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PHIL GIEBLER (No. 2 Western Union Speed Team
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It's a learning experience, for sure.
We're trying a lot of different setups on the car. For me, it's a
different way of trying to feel what the car is doing. We're just
learning, little by little. As a driver, you're looking for different
lines and different ways to get the speed. We're just trying to get
the car as free as possible and running as fast down the straight so
we can run with these guys tomorrow. There's not much pressure. I
always want to do my best no matter what I'm doing, whether it's a
test or race. It doesn't really matter what kind of car it is, I just
want to do my best."

ARIE LUYENDYK JR. (No. 5 Active Intl/Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We were working with Thiago (Medeiros,
teammate) this session to see how our cars would feel in the draft.
I'd run out front with him following pretty close for a few laps, then
he'd run in front of me. He was a bit faster towing me, so during the
last part of the practice we worked on my car alone and got it going a
bit quicker. We should be in good shape for tomorrow and qualifying."
(About being fastest): "It never feels bad, but you have to take it in
context as most of those quick times were with tows."

MARTY ROTH (No. 4 Roth Racing Dallara/Infiniti Firestone): "We had a
great day, did a lot of changes, and we brought the car a long way.
There's still a lot of time on the track tomorrow, but right now we're
really happy with the way we ended it. I love Homestead. What they've
done to the track is great. It's a windy place traditionally. A little
wind makes it interesting."

THIAGO MEDEIROS (No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti
Firestone): "In the first session, we were working on setting up the
car for qualifying, getting a baseline setup. In the afternoon, we
started to work on the race day setup, but I had a gear problem and I
couldn't get a good tow. I was missing my fourth and fifth gears, so I
was a bit worried about the gearbox, but I still feel comfortable
about tomorrow. My teammate Arie (Luyendyk Jr.) was able to draft off
me, and I did my best even though I didn't have the right gears.
Tomorrow's a new day. This is motor racing. Everything changes. I'm
confident about qualifying. We have another practice tomorrow, and I
think I'll have a very strong car. I learned a lot of things about
ovals last year, and I'm still able to learn something new every day.
You have to do your best every time. I know the car very well, and I
know how far I can go to push the car to the limit. I know the car
better, and I know how to make the changes.

2/27/04

Ganassi Toyota on pole for 2nd race in
row
For the second time in as many races, CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing with
Felix Sabates finds itself on pole for Saturday’s Grand Prix of Miami,
a three hour race with a field of 43 entries on the new 2.3-mile
Homestead Miami Speedway road course. The fledging team
took to the track for the 15 minute Daytona Prototype qualifying
session Friday afternoon with Scott Pruett (partnered with Max Papis)
at the wheel of the #01 Lexus Riley and the newly added #02 car driven
by Jimmy Morales (partnered with Luis Diaz).

It was veteran driver Scott Pruett who, for a second consecutive race,
put the #01 Lexus Riley on pole with a time of 1 minute, 13.375
seconds with a speed of 112.845 miles per hour. “It is really
something to be able to put the #01 Lexus Riley on pole twice in a
row.” said Pruett amid handshakes from team members. “It’s just a
testiment to how hard everyone has worked to put this program
together. In a race like this, the pole may not always have much
consequence but it certainly goes a long way to help the team’s
confidence.”

Jimmy Morales, despite some technical glitches during practice and
qualifying was able to put the team’s second car in the fifth spot on
the grid with a time of 1 minute, 14.811 seconds. “Luis and I were
third quickest in this morning’s practice session despite some slight
difficulties but I just couldn’t get all the pieces to come together
in qualifying.” said Morales who remained upbeat about the chances in
Saturday’s race. “The team literally put this car together this week
so we’re still ironing out a few kinks. Right now, we’re looking for a
bit more consistency than speed. I know that we’ll be able to work
with the engineers and Max and Scott and it isn’t unreasonable for
Luis and I to aim for a top 5 finish in the race.”

Pruett echoed his teammate’s sentiments. ”In practice it is difficult
to know how good the car really is with all the traffic that a 43 car
field can generate. However, with just the prototypes out there for 15
minutes of qualifying we finally got a good look at the results of all
the work we put in to develop the #01 car. We’re happy with the road
we’re on and CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is hoping
to take it a step further with a good result this weekend.”
Grand American Rolex Series racing fans can follow the CompUSA Chip
Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team’s progress throughout the race
weekend at the Grand Prix of Miami by logging on to the
GrandAmerican.com website for free Zippo live timing results. They can
also watch the tape delayed race on SPEED next Sunday, March 7th at 4
p.m. (ET).

2/27/04

Senna funeral photos
This link will take you to a
website of photos of Ayrton Senna's funeral in
Brazil 10 years ago this year. He certainly was a hero
to a lot of people in Brazil, much like Dale Earnhardt was
in the USA. Here is a more complete page of links.

2/27/04

Honda has to buy media coverage for the IRL in
Japan The Miami Herald reports that the IRL
had scant coverage from the island nation of Japan until
last year, when Japanese car manufacturers Honda and Toyota
made the switch from CART to the IRL. More than 30
journalists, photographers and broadcasters from Japan will
attend the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead this weekend. The
figure jumps to more than 50 for the Indianapolis 500,
according to an IRL spokesperson. A large contingent
of journalists are guests of Honda, which pays for their
expenses in hopes of getting good publicity.
Seems like a conflict of interest to us, but perhaps that is
how things are done in Japan.

2/27/04

Dixon fastest in morning
practice Defending Toyota Indy 300 champion
Scott Dixon is getting accustomed to the reconfigured
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dixon, the 2003 IRL IndyCar
Series champion, had the quickest lap of the morning
practice Feb. 27 in preparation for the race on Feb. 29.
Dixon toured the 1.5-mile oval in his Target Chip Ganassi
Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone in 24.6874 seconds
(216.460 mph). His quick lap was more than 12 mph
faster than Tony Kanaan’s pole-winning speed last year. The
track was repaved and revamped to include banking of 18
degrees at the bottom, 19 degrees in the middle and 20
degrees at the top of the turns. Bryan Herta (24.7406;
216.082 mph) was second quick and Kanaan (24.8107; 215.472
mph) third. Two practice sessions will be held this
afternoon, with qualifying Feb. 28

2/27/04

Jeff
Green has lucky car for Vegas
Driver Jeff Green knows a few extra breaks here and there
would sure come in handy when the NASCAR Nextel Cup series
reaches the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week. “If
there’s any place that a little extra luck could make the
difference, it’s Las Vegas,” the Owensboro, Ky., native
said. “There couldn’t be a better place for us to run the
Lucky Charms Dodge and we’re hoping it’ll give us the edge
we’re looking for on the track.”

Green will drive the #43 Lucky Charms Dodge throughout the
Las Vegas weekend for Petty Enterprises. Lucky Charms is
among the popular cereal brands made by the 43 car’s
primary sponsor General Mills. “Maybe this will give us a
little extra advantage,” he laughed. “All I know is that
winning at Las Vegas would, for sure, be "magically
delicious.’”

Prominently featuring Lucky the Leprechaun on the hood,
sides and rear, the Sam Bass-designed Lucky Charms Dodge has
a red background with Lucky Charms rainbow colors as
accents. The design also showcases the cereal’s famed
marshmallows and trademark rainbow. “Having some of the
Lucky Charms luck rub off on us would be great, and having
Lucky the Leprechaun on the car close to St. Patrick’s Day
can’t hurt either,” Green laughed. “This #43 team has been
moving forward this season,” Green said. “We’ve seen some
pretty good moments at Daytona and Rockingham, and we think
we‘re going to be pretty good at Las Vegas.

2/27/04

Sports Medicine firm celebrates
20th year When
followers of motorsport discuss safety teams in racing, most
of the glory goes to the quick-response paramedic types that
dash into the aftermath of an accident and rescue those in
peril, or to the emergency physicians that can save an
injured competitor.

Those are obviously key parts of any racing series and those
professionals that serve on the Champ Car Safety Team are
widely regarded as some of the best in the business. It is
those professionals that played a key part in Champ Car’s
stellar medical record last year, helping to fashion the
best record of any racing series in North America in terms
of injuries and races missed.

However, those sports medicine and physical therapy
professionals that serve on the Champ Car Safety Team are
every bit as vital to the success of the series. In fact,
the sports medicine and physical therapy arm of the team
contributed mightily to the fact that Tiago Monteiro’s
pre-race accident that caused him to miss the Cleveland
Grand Prix was the only incident all year in which a Champ
Car driver had to miss a start because of injury.

“I think these guys are a critical part of the care we give
at the race track” said Champ Car Medical Director Dr. Chris
Pinderski. “Our primary goal is to keep the drivers in the
race cars and the sports med and therapy guys play a key
role in that.”

Don Andrews and the Motor Sports Medicine Group that begin
their 20th year as members of the Champ Car Safety Team are
responsible for helping minor injuries remain minor, using
immediate care, resources and training to ensure that
drivers are ready when the green flag flies.

“We can do much in the first hour after an incident to keep
them able to compete at the level you need to in our
series,” Andrews said. “With our staff at the track, we are
able to provide the same type of medical care that NFL and
NBA teams have. We’ve developed protocol and procedures to
help our athletes – and they are athletes – recover quicker
and be able to continue racing.”

The sports medicine and physical therapy arm started with
the safety team in 1985, with Andrews coming from the NHL’s
New York Islanders. Other members of the current staff have
served with NFL and NHL squads and have incorporated
experiences from other sports that help them treat Champ Car
drivers.

“We adapt a lot of what we learned in other sports to
racing, but we have made modifications to help our guys,”
Andrews said. “For instance you can’t tape a driver’s wrist
the same way that you would for an offensive lineman. These
are the kinds of things that we have changed and improved
upon to help the drivers.”

2/27/04

Time is right for IRL to make
gains With
it's TV ratings plummeting in 2003 (to lower levels than
CART on network TV) it remains to be seen whether the IRL
can turn around their trend of three straight years of a
downward spiral. This weekend there is no NASCAR race
to contend with on TV, which is rare, so if they are going
to get any decent rating this year, now is the time.
This Miami Herald
article talks about this issue. Not to throw
cold water on the fire, but last year the IRL got their
highest TV rating outside of the Indy 500 for Homestead, a
1.8 on ABC. With no CART or NASCAR race to contend
with this weekend, we don't hold much hope for the failing
series and predict the race will be lucky to break 1.0 this
year on ESPN.....and so the downward spiral will probably
continue.

2/27/04

The road to Indy goes through
CART It's all too funny that the USAC short
trackers still wear their Road to Indy hats. Clearly
the Road to Indy is through CART and road racing experience,
the best training ground for any driver. This LA
Times
article says, Remember when Tony George said he was
starting his Indy Racing League to give young Americans a
chance to become big-time race car drivers? When he decried
the influence of major engine manufacturers in the CART
series? When he scraped together remnants of teams with
drivers named Buzz Calkins, Jim Guthrie, Mark Dismore and
Buddy Lazier to run the 1996 Indianapolis 500?

Well, the 2004 IRL IndyCar season starts Sunday in
Homestead-Miami with the Toyota Indy 300, and look at what
has happened since then:
• There are only 19 entries for the race and 11 of them are
foreign drivers.
• Honda has a potent lineup of four teams and seven drivers,
including four entered by Michael Andretti, once the pride
of CART. Toyota has seven cars, with teams headed by Roger
Penske and Chip Ganassi, once two of the strongest forces in
CART. General Motors, which carried the IRL through its
growing pains, has only five Chevrolet-powered cars. One is
for rookie Ed Carpenter, George's stepson.
• Calkins, Guthrie, Dismore and Lazier, who won the 1996
Indy 500, and most of the other old IRL drivers are gone to
make room for the exodus from CART. Ten of Sunday's 19
entries are former CART drivers.

All of which makes it confusing when so many CART devotees
write scathing letters to the editor about how terrible the
IRL is, when in essence, the IRL today is the CART of
yesterday. And what is CART now? It is the OWRS, for Open
Wheel Racing Series, and the mystery of who is left, besides
Paul Tracy, Adrian Fernandez and Bruno Junquiera, will
become known when the new organization holds its coming out
party March 8-9 in Long Beach.

2/27/04

Lexmark renews Champ Car race
sponsorship deal The Lexmark
Indy 300 has celebrated several milestones and records over its
14-year history. Another significant occasion that guaranteed the
event's future one year ago was celebrated today. In early
2003, Lexmark was announced by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie as the
new naming rights sponsor of Indy on the Gold Coast in a four-year
multi-million dollar agreement. The sponsorship provided a key
financial and marketing injection that has set the course for the
event's future through to at least 2006. It has also proved to be an
integral sponsorship for the Lexmark brand in the Asia Pacific region.
More.....

2/27/04IROC

IROC tests at TMS Race
teams testing at Texas Motor Speedway are usually in search of
additional speed. Parity and equality took precedence over speed
Thursday as the Crown Royal International Race of Champions machines
took to Texas Motor Speedway for the first time in preparation for the
April 2 inaugural event. Crown Royal IROC test drivers Dave Marcis,
Jim and Jay Sauter wheeled a trio of the series machines around “The
Great American Speedway” seeking setups that will be used in the April
2 race. The identically prepared stock cars will be driven by 12 of
the world’s leading drivers in the series’ Texas debut. “So far in the
first day of testing, I’m happy with the cars,” said Marcis, a former
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regular and long-time IROC tester. “I have
been to Texas before, I like this race track, always did quite well
here. Jim and Jay Sauter are both here working on the cars, our goal
today is to change shocks, change springs and keep working on the
chassis to where we are comfortable.” Individual tickets to the Crown
Royal IROC Series 100 will go on sale Monday, March 1 at the speedway
ticket office, by calling (817) 215-8500, online at
www.texasmotorspeedway.com
and at Ticketmaster locations. A special advance purchase ticket price
of $35 is being offered for the inaugural event. Also included in the
evening’s racing will be a 100-mile race for the ROMCO Super Late
Model Series. Season ticket holders will receive free tickets to the
April 2 doubleheader. Season tickets for 2004 are still available and
include frontstretch seating for six major races at Texas Motor
Speedway including the April 4 Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup event. TMS PR

2/27/04Formula Renault

Guyons Performance secures Formula
Renault contract After wrapping up the final details
from the North American Formula Renault Winter Invitational, which saw
drivers from fifteen countries battle for an astounding prize package
worth over $150,000, and the successful North American debut of the
Formula Renault V6, RaceTeam Promotions has begun preparations for the
upcoming North American Formula Renault Championships.

RaceTeam Promotions announced today that Guyons Performance Centers
will be the official supply and service provider for the North
American Formula Renault Championships, serving as the exclusive parts
supplier for North American Formula Renault and providing on-event
support including all tire supply and service, as well as shock dyno
support.

Guyons is based in Calgary, Alberta, and has locations in Las Vegas,
Nevada, as well as Portland, Oregon, with a Toronto location scheduled
to open soon. Guyons provides a myriad of services for racers and auto
enthusiasts alike, from building race engines to fabrication, as well
as serving as a key parts supplier.

Guyons will be bring a dedicated technical staff to every North
American Formula Renault event to provide insight and information
beyond just parts supply to provide the drivers and teams in the North
American Formula Renault Championships everything they need to mount a
competitive effort. Guyons is involved with nearly every segment of
motorsports, including karting, sports cars, Legends, rallying, drag
racing, and off-road, and is well known as "Canada's most complete
racing source." Guyons is also an authorized North American track side
distributor for the HANS device. Guyons recently won several awards at
the 38th Annual World of Wheels show in Calgary, Alberta, including
"Best Competition Car" for its CASCAR Chrysler entry.

2/27/04

Patrick Racing gives up on IRL plans Pat
Patrick has called off his planned Indy Racing League program because
he has not been able to raise the finance needed for the program. The
team was informed of the decision on Wednesday. Patrick had been
hoping to put together a program involving veteran driver Al Unser Jr
but it seems that the Unser name was not a big enough draw to enable
Patrick to find the money needed in the time available. Patrick
also has been linked to the Indy 500 effort Robby Gordon is
coordinating. The NASCAR Nextel Cup driver has confirmed his
commitment to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, but he
has not named a team. Gordon told friends at the Daytona 500
he'd like to do the program himself with financial backing from Meijer
and others, but he also might work through Patrick. "There's
been no communication there (between us) for two weeks now, so I have
to assume Robby has another deal," Newey said.

2/27/04

What can Ron Dennis learn from NASCAR?
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Following up on your reply on
NASCAR that they have done a lot of things right to deserve their
increased popularity. Since I work at a Mercedes-Benz dealership, most
of the motor sports talk revolves around F1. I read your response to
my buddies at work today so we tried to remove our emotions and come
up with three things NASCAR has added, or changed in the last five
years that would account toward their increased popularity. Please
don't assume we are anti-NASCAR. We are for all motor sports, but we
appreciate real racing, like Champ Cars more so than others. We only
detest Tony George, and the sellouts in his league. Anyway, back to
our "round table discussion" of why NASCAR has earned their recent
popularity. First, the drivers. For the same reason pro wrestling
characters are important to their fans, it seems the same is true for
NASCAR drivers and their fans. It's not about the car they drive or
even their teams. If the drivers switch teams, the fans follow the
drivers. As you have pointed out before, the majority of the F1 fans
follow their teams. Still, we don't believe NASCAR has done anything
in the past five years or so to be able to claim credit for this
phenomenon. Next up was NASCAR's dumbing down of their cars to promote
closer racing. Restrictor plates, and common body templates might be
the two best examples of this factor. This was so sad of an example
that we refused to qualify them for our discussion. Finally, night
time racing under the lights. I have to admit, watching the Cleveland
Champ Car race last year was damn exciting. However, how much of our
emotions were due to the fact that this was just new to us, not really
better? The jury is out on this one. So, we're left with
that. Really nothing that we could think of that Ron Dennis is going
to take back with him to McLaren from NASCAR. That's like saying Eric
Clapton is coming to the U.S. to catch a Britney Spears concert to
see why the American public and media thinks she deserves to be so
popular. Can't and shouldn't be done. We respect you and want to hear
your justification of your comments what NASCAR has done to deserve
their popularity. Like I said, we believe they were just lucky to be
at the right place at the right time. I know Champ Car racing is
getting ready to kick in high gear (thank goodness). Wes Burrow,
Memphis, TN Dear Wes, As we have stated on numerous
occasions, sports fans worship their heroes - the athletes. Auto
racing is no different, especially NASCAR. There is an emotional
attachment between NASCAR fans and their drivers, especially Dale
Earnhardt Jr. who has become a hero to all the fans that loved his
father. It was as if he just stepped right into his shoes and
took over the role. NASCAR has done an excellent job of putting
the NASCAR drivers front and center. NASCAR has so much money
behind them they pretty much own the media. Every racing
publication (print and TV) and some non-racing publications, are
flooded with NASCAR material supported by the many advertisers NASCAR
sends their way. The France family has control of some key media
publications and they use them to promote their drivers. Some of
the drivers have great personalities making them very entertaining to
watch on TV. Compare that to F1 drivers like Kimi Raikkonen and
Mika Hakkinen who are about as entertaining as watching paint dry.
NASCAR
is still predominantly a blue-collar sport, though it has become a bit
more white-collar in recent years. It appeals to the masses,
The Bubbas, as some like to affectionately call them. They
wear their favorite driver on their sleeve - - literally, who have
become walking billboards. You won't catch too many F1 fans
wearing a Jeff Gordon shirt with his DuPont Chevy plastered on the
front and back. That simply isn't fashionable to people who
drive Mercedes and BMW's [Pictured above right: We do not
expect to see too many white collar fans doing this. Only a Bubba].
In general, white collar fans are more affluent and educated and don't
tend to worship sports figures as their hero like a less affluent
person might. To the masses, the common folk, worshiping
a sports figure allows them to live their dreams of greatness through
their hero, a sort of Walter Mitty phenomena. As we have said,
it's the driver stupid. NASCAR has figured that out, the
majority of the other racing series are clueless in that regard.
Mark C.

2/27/04

Mecachrome signs deal with Cheever
Racing Canadian-based international engine firm
Mecachrome has announced a partnership with the Indy Racing
League's IndyCar Series Red Bull Cheever Racing team. stated
senior Mecachrome executive Guillaume Casella: “This alliance will
allow our highly dedicated engineers to work side by side with the Red
Bull Cheever Racing team in the quest for the IRL championship title.”
Added Eddie Cheever Jr., owner of Red Bull Cheever Racing: "Our
partnership with Mecachrome is the beginning of an opportunity to
utilize some very intelligent engineers and advanced resources in the
automobile and aeronautical industry. "Mecachrome's
international expertise and Formula 1 experience will not only enhance
development within our team, but will bring us to a whole new level of
motor sport innovation."

Rand
Team announces 2004 drivers
Rand Racing today announced a strong driver lineup for the upcoming
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and a technical partnership with
Yokohama Tire Corporation. Mike Fitzgerald, James Gue, and team owner
Bill Rand will share the #7 LMP2 Rand Racing Lola B2K/40, with Marino
Franchitti, Derek Hill, and Andy Lally in the identical #8 entry. As a
group the drivers bring experience to the team ranging from karting
championships and F3000 to multiple endurance wins at Daytona and
Sebring. Yokohama will provide engineering and development resources,
as well as the new ADVAN radial racing slick and wet weather pattern
tires to the team. More.....

2/26/04

GP of Miami practice results
Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series drivers got their first taste
of racing on the banking of the NEW Homestead-Miami Speedway on
Thursday during the opening practice session for this Saturday's Grand
Prix of Miami. The speeds were quicker due to the new configuration,
and several teams were at the top of the leaderboard during the
one-hour, 45-minute practice session. At the end of the session, the
SunTrust Racing No. 10 Pontiac Riley XI turned a 1:15.262 lap at
110.016 mph that would not be beat. Max Angelelli was at the wheel of
the No. 10 Pontiac Daytona Prototype during its fast lap, which was
1.720 seconds faster than the qualifying record set by David Donohue
last year. "It's the first time I've raced here since the
construction. It's good; I like it. It's much more fun that the other
configuration. It seems to be a little bit more challenging with the
banking. The traffic is not going to be easy," said Angelelli. "I like
the new banking. We've just got to find where the groove is. The car
is very good. There are some issues that we're working on, but we'll
be OK for tomorrow," added Angelelli's co-driver, Wayne Taylor. Four
teams were quicker than last year's qualifying time of 1:16.982. The
CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 01 Lexus Riley was
second-quickest with its 1:15.588 lap, while Michael Shank Racing's
No. 6 Lexus Doran JE4 was third fastest with a 1:15.705. The Doran-Lista
Racing No. 27 Lexus Doran was the fourth Daytona Prototype to top last
year's time with a 1:16.179 lap.

2/26/04

Earnhardt movie being pushed
back Barry
Pepper is in the driver's seat for the upcoming ESPN
original film "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story," which he will
star in and co-executive produce. The network has confirmed
that Pepper ("25th Hour") will portray the biopic's title
character, who died in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Production will begin in the summer in Charlotte, N.C., and
Atlanta. Originally scheduled to air in late summer,
"Earnhardt" has been pushed back to December.
Hollywood Reports

2/26/04

Ford being sued
The families of three women killed last year in a fiery
crash, including the wife of a former NASCAR crew chief, are
suing Ford Motor Co., claiming the limousine they were
riding in was defective. The crash in Greensboro on Sept. 10
killed Tara Howell Parker, 29, of Cornelius, whose husband
[Shawn Parker - now the #1 Truck crew chief] was then NASCAR
driver Dale Jarrett's crew chief. Also killed were her
sisters, Mysti Howell-Poplin, 24, and Megan Howell, 16, both
of Mocksville. All three were passengers in the limousine
when it was hit from behind by a pickup truck. The suit
filed Tuesday in Davie County alleges the limousine was
defective because its fuel tank was located behind the rear
axle, and was more likely to leak fuel when hit from behind.
Autopsies showed the women died of burns and smoke
inhalation from the fire, not from the impact of the crash,
according to the suit. The suit seeks unspecified monetary
damages, said attorney Bill Bystrynski, who is representing
the families of Tara Parker's sisters. Police said the
limousine had stopped in a travel lane on Interstate 40 due
to highway construction when it was struck by a 1998 Ford
F-150 pickup driven by Jeffrey Niles McFayden of Greensboro.
The truck pushed the limousine into the car in front of it.
McFayden, 35, was charged with driving while impaired and
three counts of second-degree murder. The limousine driver
and the driver and a passenger in the front car were not
injured. Ford issued a statement on Tuesday, saying there
are more than 20 million registered vehicles with fuel tanks
located behind the rear axle, and that such designs are
common among every major vehicle manufacturer. "The National
Highway Traffic Safety Association specifically investigated
this issue and found that tank location does not determine
safety, but rather component and structural design," the
statement said.
WSOCTV.com

IRL to launch enhanced websites Expanded
content and improved navigation will greet fans who log on
to the Indy Racing League's IndyCar® Series Web site (www.indyracing.com/indycar)
on Sunday, Feb. 29 - the date of the season-opening Toyota
Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The IndyCar Series and the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series
(www.indyracing.com/pro)
sites have been revamped to include enhanced race day
preview and post-race packages. Live timing and scoring from
all practice sessions, qualifying and the races will be
available for free on the sites.

The Web sites also have been made more fan-friendly with
easier navigation and enhanced content through the "Access
Card" on the home pages. Online visitors will be able to
print pages from the online coloring book in the "Kids
Zone," watch video of a Delphi IRL Safety Team training
session from "Science On The Track," and find out the
responsibilities of each crew member from "Pit Stop Primer"
among other things related to the races and the IRL.

Photo galleries of all IndyCar Series drivers have been
added to driver biographies, with new photos added after
each race. Areas of the IndyCar Series Web site relating to
sponsors and partnerships also have been enhanced with video
presentations and marketing information. Coming soon will be
an IRL "Superstore" for fans to purchase IndyCar Series,
Menards Infiniti Pro Series and driver merchandise online.

Additionally, beginning Monday, March 1, the IndyCar Series
site will offer original daily content in the form of
stories, photos and video and a feature called the "Daily
Dish." The Daily Dish will be comprised of five weekly
features:

* Stock Watch (gauging which IndyCar Series driver is
climbing the charts)
* Glad You Asked (answering fan questions about the IRL,
teams and drivers)
* Driver Diary (different driver each month will write an
online diary)
* Statman (diving into the world of statistics)
* Talking Points (what drivers and owners are saying about
the season)

More original content, photos and graphics will be
incorporated into the Web sites as the season progresses.

"Fans enjoy connecting to the Indy Racing League through our
Web site and we are excited to offer even more to
indyracing.com visitors in 2004," said Ken Ungar, senior
vice president, business affairs for the Indy Racing League.
"New features, original content and enhanced old favorites
will convey the wheel-to-wheel excitement of the sport to
visitors on a daily basis."

The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season begins with the Toyota
Indy 300 at 2 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 29 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN and the
IMS Radio Network. The 2004 Menards Infiniti Pro Series
season begins with the Homestead-Miami 100 on Feb. 29 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will be broadcast on a
tape delayed basis by ESPN2 at 4 p.m. on March 4.

2/26/04

Briscoe fastest on bad weather
day at Imola
On the last day of testing before the Australian Grand Prix,
both Ferrari and Williams had unproductive days thanks to
poor weather and reliability. With eight days until first
practice in Melbourne, Ryan Briscoe topped the last set of
winter test times at Imola today (Thursday). Ferrari took
one look at the weather this morning, then packed up and
went back to base at Maranello. Their decision proved
correct, as the rain steadily worsened throughout the day.
Pos Driver Car-Engine Time Laps
1 Ryan Briscoe Toyota* 1m37.588 51
2 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1m39.440s 28
3 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1m44.044s 32
*2003 car

2/26/04

Champ Car/IRL fight will
continue This Toronto Sun
article says, A blood feud between North America's
two top open-wheel racing series that has gutted both
organizations is showing no signs of healing, Champ Car
World Series' new boss said yesterday. Paul Gentilozzi, one
of three business tycoons who won a court battle to buy the
former CART series, said that he doesn't expect to be
invited to Indy Racing League owner Tony George's private
suite at Indianapolis Motor Speedway any time soon.

George had bid against the Gentilozzi group in the hope of
killing off CART and ending the split between the two racing
organizations that has gone on since 1996. Such a
deal, however, most certainly would have meant no Toronto
Molson Indy this year. Gentilozzi said he and
his partners -- Gerry Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven -- want
the Champ Car series to continue with its variety of racing
venues -- road courses, street courses and ovals.

"We didn't buy Champ Car to merge it with somebody
else," Gentilozzi said. "We bought it because we believe in
the product and we're confident about what it is."

The Michigan real estate developer said that CART's former
managers made a lot of mistakes that his group plans to
avoid. One is to stop being the promoter of its own events.
That plan cost CART tens of millions of dollars over the
past two seasons. "We were not very good at
promoting our own events," Gentilozzi said. "We learned we
should leave that to the professionals like Molson."

Gentilozzi was in Toronto yesterday to meet with Molson Indy
brass about this year's event and about extending its
contract beyond 2005. "We bought this series to
make it successful," he said. "And Toronto, Vancouver and
Toronto are a big part of that." The question
remains whether the new Champ Car group can deliver on its
commitment of 18 cars come the second week of July in
Toronto. Gentilozzi admits the series is three
months behind in terms of having teams in place for the
April 18 opening race in Long Beach, Calif. "But
we are catching up quickly," he said. "We are committed to
having 18 cars in Long Beach and we will have them."

As of yesterday Champ Car had firm deals for just 12 cars --
two each from Forsythe, P-K, Rocketsports, Newman-Haas and
Herdez and single entries from Team Rahal and RuSPORT.
Gentilozzi said the rest of the field will be in place by
mid-March. But George's IRL also is having
difficulty filling its grid. Its first race this weekend at
Homestead-Miami Speedway has 19 entries -- a far cry from
the 33 needed to fill the field at the Indianapolis 500 in
May.

Editor's Note: Other
tidbits mentioned: 15 races for sure and announcement next
week on another int'l race, schedule to be confirmed in a
week. TV schedule done. Will be out in a few days.
All races will be aired at 4pm EST on Sundays so some races
will be live, tape to live, tape delay. Network
deal done and the network is on board for promotion as well.
An 11am Sunday CCWS show. 2005 Formula will be
announced March 8-9 along with teams, drivers and sponsors.
Trans Am driver announcement next week that will knock your
socks off.

2/26/04

F1 drivers want clarification on Blue
Flag
Formula 1's leading drivers are calling on the sport's bosses to
prevent poorly-behaved backmarkers from ruining this season's racing.
According to a story in AUTOSPORT, they want the FIA to force the
message that it will not tolerate competitors who ignore blue flags.
World Champion Michael Schumacher, a Grand Prix Drivers' Association
director, has already spoken to FIA race director Charlie Whiting
about the matter, and there is widespread support for action to be
taken in time for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
There was concern last year after Juan Pablo Montoya's fight for
victory in the Italian Grand Prix was derailed when he lost valuable
time trying to lap the uncooperative Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Fellow GPDA director Mark Webber added: “We want a consistent stance
on the situation so that everybody knows the rules before Melbourne.”

IMS Radio network reaches record number
of stations A record number of affiliates across the
country will carry the IMS Radio Network broadcast of the Toyota Indy
300 on Feb. 29. The network has lined up 103 stations for the
broadcast, the most to date for any IRL IndyCar Series race with the
exception of the Indianapolis 500. IndyCar Series veteran Jaques
Lazier will join anchor Mike King and analyst Dave Wilson in the
broadcast booth at Homestead-Miami Speedway as a guest color
commentator.

Formula Renault Winter Invitational
drivers take home $150G The Formula Renault Winter
Invitational not only provided the opportunity for teams and drivers
to tune up for the 2004 North American Formula Renault Championship
season, but it also proved to be very lucrative as well, with a prize
purse of well over $150,000 in value being distributed at the season
ending banquet, held at the beautiful Keys Gate golf resort facility
in Homestead.

Formula Renault Winter Invitational Champion Junior Strous left the
event with the largest grin after pocketing his check for $40,000 for
his championship effort. Strous’ smile was bolstered from his
experience earlier in the day at the helm of the Formula Renault V6
test laps he won as part of the comprehensive prize package for the
series.

Strous was awarded five Formula Renault V6 laps for taking the fastest
lap of the day at the first promoter test day, held in advance of the
opening round race in Sebring, and continued to add to that total
during the season with his collection of poles (4) and wins (3)
providing him with the chance to take over seventy laps in the
powerful V6.

In addition to his cash and test lap awards, Strous also scored with
certificates from Guyons Performance Centers totaling $5,500. Guyons
is the official supply and service provider for the Formula Renault
Winter Invitational, providing all tire services for the teams, as
well as serving on-site to insure a full stock of Formula Renault
parts are available during every race weekend. Strous is still
weighing his options for the 2004 summer season, and knowing he has a
significant credit for crucial parts and tires for the summer series
might prove helpful for the likeable young Dutchman.

Eurointernational’s Juan Ponte finished second in the championship
standings on the strength of his speed and consistency, only finishing
outside of the top four once, with three podium appearances. Ponte
netted $25,000 for his efforts, with round two winner Gustavo
Sondermann scoring his own $20,000 check for his third place finish.

Sondermann, who finished just over one car length behind the thrilling
battle for the win in round five (just .013 of a second separated
winner Strous and second place finisher Dan McMullen), was overjoyed
with his Winter Invitational season with Gelles Racing and taking the
big check was the icing on the cake for the birthday boy.

2/25/04

Formula Dodge driver to get Toyota
Atlantic test with RuSPORT After winning -- in its
first attempt-- the 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship behind the
stellar driving of A.J. Allmendinger, RuSPORT has finalized an
agreement with the Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship
Presented by RACER organizers to award the 2004 and 2005 FDNC
champions with Toyota Atlantic test days. If RuSPORT itself doesn't
conduct the test days, it will facilitate the testing with a Toyota
Atlantic team. "This is great news for Skip Barber Formula Dodge
competitors," said Divina Galica, Senior V.P. of Racing. FDNC has a
history of producing really talented drivers -- A.J. among them -- and
for our best drivers to show what they've got in an Atlantic car,
well, that's a fantastic opportunity." "RuSPORT is pleased to continue
its support of young drivers in their effort to make a career in Champ
Car," said RuSPORT Team President Jeremy Dale. There is no doubt in my
mind that North American drivers can compete at the highest levels of
the sport, but we must all continue to help them develop the necessary
skills. This is an important step in that direction." Added Galica, As
we recently announced, the FDNC champion now wins $100,000 in cash to
take to a team further up the motorsports ladder. Also having the
Atlantic seat time on the resume makes for a compelling package --
completely aside from that driver having distinctly proved his or her
talent by winning the Skip Barber Formula Dodge title." Allmendinger,
21 and considered one of the top American open-wheel prospects in
recent years, won the 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series championship, one
year after scoring the most points in the 2001 FDNC (but finishing
second in the title hunt). RuSPORT announced last week
that it will field a Lola for Allmendinger in this year's Champ Car
World Series. The Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship
Presented by RACER begins its 14- race 2004 season with rounds one and
two at the ALMS Mobil1 12-Hours of Sebring March 16- 19.

2/25/04

Champ Car cancels St. Pete raceUPDATE
A reader writes, It's looking more and more like the only race I will
be going to in person this year will be the Sebring 12 Hours. Last
year I went to Champ Car events in St Pete and Miami and thought they
were both great. Now it appears they are both gone with the
wind. This guy Begley you are talking about reminds me quite a bit
about a guy named Mr. Poe who tried to block the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
new stadium from being built. A real life Grinch who likes to
ruin people's fun. Doug Ferguson
2/25/04 - Officials
with the Champ Car World Series (“Series”) and the City of
St. Petersburg regretfully announced Wednesday that, despite
their best efforts, they were not able to complete
negotiations to acquire the rights to hold the Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg.

Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC (“Champ Car”) attempted to
acquire the rights to the race from the owner, Grand Prix
Association of Long Beach, Inc. (“GPA”), a subsidiary of
Dover Motorsports, Inc. However, Champ Car and the city
could not proceed with plans for a race without the consent
of former rights holder Tom Begley, due to a transaction
between Begley and 2003 race promoter GPA. When a successful
resolution of the matter between GPA and Begley could not be
reached, despite repeated entreaties from the City of St.
Petersburg as well as Champ Car officials, the Series was
left with no choice but to leave St. Petersburg off the
soon-to-be-released 2004 schedule.

“Champ Car worked very hard to hold the St. Petersburg race
in 2004. The City of St. Petersburg, under the leadership of
Mayor Rick Baker, provided phenomenal support as we tried to
reach an agreement to hold the race,” Champ Car President
Dick Eidswick said. “Unfortunately, individuals unrelated to
Champ Car kept that from happening, which is a
disappointment not only to our drivers and teams, but more
importantly to the many Champ Car fans throughout the
Southeast.

“The success of last year’s race makes this outcome even
more of a disappointment,” continued Eidswick. “We were
looking to build on that success and all parties worked
around the clock for the last two weeks in trying to work
out a resolution to include the race on our 2004 schedule.
The drivers called it one of the most enjoyable street
courses on the circuit and the great fan support was a key
factor in our desire to hold the event. While we regret that
we can not race in St. Petersburg in 2004, we are hopeful
about the possibility of returning in the future, if
circumstances allow.”

Statement by Mayor of St. Petersburg

Mayor Rick Baker expressed the
city’s disappointment upon hearing that Champ Car was unable
to secure the rights to conduct a race in St. Petersburg in
2004:

“It is unfortunate that St. Petersburg will not be included
this year in the Champ Car World Series despite repeated
attempts made by Open Wheel Racing Series to make the race
happen,” said Mayor Baker. “St. Petersburg has demonstrated
it can host a successful street racing event along its world
class waterfront. The terrific fan support from the 2003
race uniquely positions the city for a return of Champ Car
racing in the near future. I am pleased that Champ Car
continues to express a desire to return a race to St.
Petersburg.”

2/25/04Industry News

Speedway Motorsports reports
big gain DOW JONES Newswires notes that
Speedway Motorsports (Bruton Smith's company) “reported a
30% increase in fourth-quarter net income, which … slightly
exceeded expectations.” Net income for Q4 ’03 rose to $11.1M
from $8.5M a year earlier. Revenues increased 16% to $84.6M,
up from $73.2M. For the full year, net income from
continuing operations fell to $58.5M from $61.2M. Yearly
revenues rose from $376.6M to $404.5M.

2/25/04

IRL races live on
ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 ESPN and ABC Sports will again
be the exclusive carriers of Indy Racing League events,
providing live television coverage of all 16 IRL IndyCar®
Series events for the 2004 season.

Six IndyCar Series races, including the season-opening
Toyota Indy 300, will be broadcast live by either ESPN or
ESPN2. The other 10 races, including the 88th Indianapolis
500, will be carried live by ABC Sports.

ESPN2 will televise all 12 Menards Infiniti Pro Series
races, including live coverage of the Freedom 100 on May 22
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ESPN and ESPN2's
IndyCar Series broadcast will feature veteran host Paul Page
and analyst Scott Goodyear, who return to the broadcast
booth for the third-straight season.

The announce team also includes veteran pit reporter Jack
Arute and newcomer Jamie Little, who was featured on ESPN's
coverage of the X Games, Supercross, Motocross and Great
Outdoor Games. Dr. Jerry Punch will join Arute and Little
for Indianapolis 500 time trials and other superspeedway
events.

ABC's commentators will be announced at a later date.
In addition to race coverage, the broadcast partners also
will provide supplemental programming.

ESPN2 will supplement coverage of the season-opening race
with a 1-hour season preview show at 8 p.m. (EST,) on Feb.
28. The program will look ahead to the upcoming season and
include a mix of racing and lifestyle features on series
drivers, such as Robbie Buhl, Helio Castroneves, Scott
Dixon, A.J. Foyt IV, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr., and
Tony Kanaan.

ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 also will present extensive coverage of
the Indianapolis 500, with ABC Sports offering four total
hours of time trials action on May 15 and May 23 and the
exclusive race telecast at 11 a.m., (EDT) on May 30.
ESPN and ESPN2 will provide more than 22 hours of
Indianapolis 500 programming, including Pole Day, Bump Day,
time trials, the Carburetion Day pit stop competition and
the Indy 500 Festival Parade.

ESPN also will televise an all-access ESPN Original
Entertainment program at 5 p.m., (EDT) on May 29 capturing
the speed and pressure that the teams and drivers endure
leading in to the 500.

SportsCenter at the Indy 500, an on-site news program, will
be aired for the three weeks leading up to the race Monday
through Friday at 6:30 p.m., (EDT) on ESPN2. The show will
air beginning May 10.

The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season begins with the Toyota
Indy 300 at 2 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 29, at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN and the
IMS Radio Network. The 2004 Menards Infiniti Pro Series
season begins with the Homestead-Miami 100 on Feb. 29 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will be broadcast on a
tape delayed basis by ESPN2 at 4 p.m. on March 4.

2/25/04

Brian France moves back to
Daytona
Location, location, location. Apparently, Brian France is
taking his new job seriously. According to the Los Angeles
Times, NASCAR's new chairman and CEO sold his Southern
California home to move to Florida, near stock-car racing's
headquarters. France reportedly received close to his asking
price of $12.9 million for the house and six-acre property
in a gated Brentwood community of Los Angeles. The
10,800-square foot house, built in 2001, features seven
bedrooms, 81/2 bathrooms, an outside living room with a
fireplace, and mountain and city views.
Philadelphia Inquirer

2/25/04

Schumacher breaks lap record at
Imola
Michael Schumacher put his F1 rivals on notice that he isn't
ready to roll over and play dead just yet. Schumacher
shattered the Imola lap record today in testing with a lap
of 1m19.664s. The world champion continued with
development work on the F2004, covering a total of 98 laps,
the quickest in a time of 1'19"664. For his part, the
Brazilian driver undertook a series of tire tests at the
wheel of an F2003-GA: he did 52 laps, with a best time of
1'21"235. Both Schumacher and Barrichello continue testing
tomorrow. We will have the times of other drivers
shortly.
Photos

2/25/04

IRL weekly teleconference
transcript We welcome Helio Castroneves,
along with Menards Infiniti Pro Series driver Thiago
Medeiros, to today's conference. Thiago will join us in the
second half hour of this call. We'll start today with Helio
Castroneves. Driving his third full season in the IRL, Helio
has finished near the top of the IndyCar® Series
championship, finishing second in 2002 and third last year.
Helio will no doubt be up front again in 2004 and was third
quickest in the final IndyCar Series Open Test which took
place earlier this month at Phoenix International Raceway.
Transcript

2/25/04

Bernie and Max take another blow from
anti-tobacco
So much for F1's fight against countries that ban tobacco
advertising. It is reported in Japan that the Japanese
government will shortly announce that it is to sign the World Health
Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In doing so it
will commit itself to banning all tobacco sponsorship in Japan and
working towards a global ban on all tobacco advertising. The news
could create problems for Renault F1 in the longer term as the team is
sponsored by Mild Seven, a brand which belongs to Japan Tobacco.
More significantly, the banning of advertising will mean that there
can be no more tobacco logos at the Japanese GP, which will not please
the powers-that-be in Formula 1.
Grandprix.com

2/25/04

Darlington to also get SAFER Barrier
Darlington Raceway is getting the SAFER barriers in time for the
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 next month. Installation of the
so-called "soft walls" already is under way at NASCAR's oldest
superspeedway, track officials said Tuesday. The race is scheduled for
March 21. Earlier this year, NASCAR said all facilities hosting
Nextel Cup series events would be fitted with the Steel and Foam
Energy Reduction system by next January.

2/25/04

Cosworth
to remake legendary DFV
Cosworth Racing has announced that it is to resume manufacture of
the most successful engine in the history of Formula One racing, the
DFV V8. Cylinder blocks, heads, sumps and front covers will all be
available from late spring/early summer. [Pictured: 400th
Ford Cosworth DFV F1 Engine, 1986. (Left to Right when enlarged) Mike
Costin, Keith Duckworth, Walter Hayes.]

Conceived by Cosworth founder Keith Duckworth in 1966, the DFV (Double
Four Valve) was a quantum leap in terms of engine design. Duckworth
considered all areas of the engine from first principles and
consequently designed an ideal solution to each of the inherent
challenges. The result was an engine that was not only extremely
light, compared to its competitors, but gave exceptional power and
driveability from the outset.

However, it was not only the power unit itself that was innovative.
The DFV was the first engine in Formula One racing to form part of the
race car’s structure, as a stressed member. This meant that the
structure and framework that traditionally retained the engine within
the car were no longer required and as such, the car’s overall weight
was greatly reduced.

Cosworth was commissioned by Ford to develop and supply five examples
of the DFV in 1966. It delivered the first engine to the Lotus team in
1967, in time for the Dutch Grand Prix, which Jim Clark promptly won.
The engine went on to claim a further 154 race wins in Formula One,
before various derivatives were used in America, in IndyCars and Champ
Car racing.

Nowadays, the engine is experiencing a renewed lease on life in
classic race series, such as the Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship,
which Cosworth Racing supports. And it is because of this that
Cosworth Racing decided to remanufacture the DFV’s core components, to
service an ongoing demand for the engine.

2/25/04

Briscoe wants to race, not test
According to Autosport Magazine, Toyota test driver Ryan Briscoe,
who has been linked with the Minardi testing role for Melbourne, has
said he would like to race for the team next year if there is no
vacancy at Toyota. “If, come next year, there is no spot for me at
Toyota and they say, ‘Look, we can put you in a Minardi’, then that
would be fantastic,” he said. “I would take that any day.”

2/25/04

Revamped Champ Car safety team ready to
roll, names new Medical Director Widely regarded as the
finest safety unit in all of motorsports, the 2004 Champ Car Safety
Team will be under the leadership of Dr. Chris Pinderski, M.D., FACEP
who takes over as series Medical Director after 12 years of working
with the renowned Champ Car Safety Team.

Pinderski, who has most recently served several seasons as the series
Associate Medical Director, moves up to the lead role this year as
Champ Car looks to capitalize on the strengths of its participating
physicians. In addition to his racing duties, Pinderski serves as the
Medical Director at Three Rivers Regional Medical Center in Poplar
Bluff, Missouri and specializes in emergency medicine. More....

2/25/04

Giebler
signs with Duesenberg Keith
Duesenberg Racing and the Western Union Speed Team are proud to
announce that they will campaign their sophomore year in the Indy
Racing League Menards Infiniti Pro Series with one of Europe's hottest
up-and-comers behind the wheel -- Phil Giebler from Oxnard, Calif.

Giebler, 23, tested with the Western Union Speed Team at Phoenix
International Raceway in February at the IRL's annual Test In The
West. Although it was Giebler's first oval track experience and his
first-ever look at a Menards Infiniti Pro Series car, driver and team
quickly gelled and Giebler finished the day third-fastest overall,
impressing all who were in attendance.

"I knew from the first moment I got on track with this team that we
could contend for a championship this season," said Giebler. "The crew
and I communicated very well and they helped me get comfortable very
quickly with the racecar."

The
Western Union Speed Team finished second in the Menards Infiniti Pro
Series standings in 2003, notching two victories and eight top-five
finishes in twelve starts. Team owner Keith Duesenberg feels that,
with Phil Giebler behind the wheel, a championship could be on the
horizon.

“After following Phil’s career overseas, everything we’ve heard about
him exceeded those reports,” said Duesenberg. “We were impressed with
Phil both in and out of the car. He’s smart, a quick learner, and a
solid communicator with a great sense of humor. The Western Union
Speed Team is pleased to have a driver with such great potential. We
see Phil as that last piece of the puzzle in our pursuit of the
Menards Infiniti Pro Series championship.”

Giebler, who has built an impeccable reputation in the European
Formula ranks with his determination, persistence, and skill, is
considered to be on the fast track to competing in the world-renowned
Formula One World Championship -- a goal he has had since he was a
teenager. For years he has navigated the difficult waters of European
racing, struggling to find sponsorship and relying on his impressive
talent to open doors that normally only respond to money. His
commitment to his goal and his outstanding performances without the
benefit of testing or top equipment eventually landed him a ride in
the International F3000 series – one step away from F1. The politics
and financial requirements at the F3000 level, however, presented huge
roadblocks for Giebler. Although several teams were eager to sign the
young American, they would not do so without extravagant sums of
personal sponsorship money.

TAG Heuer gives up on F1UPDATE A reader writes, Dear
AutoRacing1, I am not sure if you were aware or not, but the Swatch
group owns Tag Heuer. In the watch world, there is a lot of technology
swapping, and parts sharing among the different watch brands that
Swatch owns. So it's quite likely that Swatch will be the official
timing and scoring partner of F1, using the same exact equipment that
is in place now. J. Gonzalez, San Dimas, CA
2/24/04 - This GrandPrix.com article
says that in a very cleverly-worded press release TAG Heuer has
announced that it is to "relinquish its FIA Formula One timekeeping
activity after 12 years of participation". The company is to remain
involved as a sponsor of McLaren while also branching out into the
Indy Racing League, where it will be the official timekeeper this
year. The company will also have personal deals with IRL Champion
Scott Dixon and Sarah Fisher. The news is not a great surprise given
that TAG Heuer took much of the blame for what happened in Interlagos
last year when the wrong winner was declared after a chaotic Brazilian
GP. The timing of F1 is done nowadays by the Formula One group and the
partnership with TAG Heuer was for the supply of equipment and
sponsorship for FOM. The time-keeping in F1 is thus not in any doubt
for this season but it remains to be seen which company will take up
the role. The frontrunner for the job seems to be Swatch, which was
involved in the sport in the 1970s and 1980s under the Tissot name, as
a sponsor of Team Lotus and Renault. The company quit F1 in 1983 when
it merged with Asuag and in 1997 this organization rebranded itself as
Swatch.

2/24/04

Las Vegas News
Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s ever improving vehicle flow for its NASCAR
Weekend should be enhanced significantly this year with the completion
of the Las Vegas Beltway, according to LVMS officials.

The loop, which opened this past November as Nevada Route 215,
connects Interstate 15 North with U.S. 95 and reconnects with I-15
south of the city. The beltway’s northern loop was open for the 2003
event and helped make 2003 the most successful year for ingress and
egress in the speedway’s history.

“The completion of the beltway will certainly help disperse a lot of
cars on I-15,” said Chris Powell, LVMS president and general manager.
“We hope that everyone living in the western part of the valley will
use the beltway going to and from the speedway. Even if you’re headed
to the Strip, it’s not a bad idea to take the beltway to U.S. 95 and
go downtown from there. And race fans heading back to Southern
California will be able to follow the beltway all the way around the
valley until it reconnects with I-15 just south of the airport.”

Speedway officials still encourage as many race fans as possible to
use buses and shuttles such as Citizens Area Transit (CAT) for
transportation to the races.

“The flow of cars into and out of the speedway has improved steadily
from year to year. Each year, we find ways to make the situation even
better. We still suggest that fans take the various buses and shuttles
that are available from downtown and The Strip as opposed to driving
to the speedway.”

This year’s event also will see a crackdown on the fraudulent use of
handicapped placards. Speedway security will be checking the validity
of handicapped passes on each vehicle.

“We take caring for the handicapped very seriously at the speedway,”
Powell said. “It’s important to us that handicapped fans coming to our
race are not inconvenienced by those who are perfectly capable of
parking in the general parking area.”

General parking is free at LVMS.
Speedway officials are expecting a crowd in excess of 135,000 fans for
the March 7 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup event. The
weekend kicks off with qualifying for both the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
and Sam’s Town 300 on Friday, March 5. The Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Busch
Series race will be held Saturday, March 6. There also will be two
nights of the O’Reilly World of Outlaws on the half-mile dirt track
beginning Thursday, March 4 and the Southern Nevada Dodge Dealers
Showdown on Saturday, March 6. This event will include a 100-lap Super
Late Model race and a 20-lap celebrity race featuring several members
of the NASCAR on FOX broadcast team.

2/24/04

OWRS fighting to gain ACCUS membership Autoracing1.com
has been sitting on this story for two weeks now waiting for the final
outcome regarding OWRS's membership in ACCUS thereby giving it FIA
sanctioning. ACCUS is the USA ASN of the FIA (got all those
acronyms?). However, since David Phillips got wind of it in this
SPEED TV article,
enjoy. We can tell you that OWRS does have a Plan A and a Plan B & C
so we shall see how it all plays out....

2/24/04

Tony George's quotes from Wind TunnelHere
are select quotes from Monday's Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED
Channel. Indy Racing League President and CEO Tony George spoke with
Dave about the future of the IRL. George on IRL direction
following failed bid on CART assets: "We're moving forward. It was
an opportunity to unify the sport. It was an opportunity we didn't
expect. Two days before, they
changed their mind about doing a purchase of the stock and buying the
company. More on
Home page

2/24/04

USGP schedule set
The United States Grand Prix race will start at noon (EST,
local time) Sunday, June 20, according to a timetable
released by the FIA, governing body of Formula One.
Defending event champion Michael Schumacher will attempt to
win his third USGP on the 2.605-mile road circuit at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Schumacher also won the
inaugural F1 race at Indianapolis in 2000. Single-lap
qualifying will start at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 19. The
complete weekend schedule for Formula One on-track activity
(all times local):FRIDAY, June 18
11 a.m.-noon Practice Session 1

2-3 p.m. Practice Session 2SATURDAY, June 19
9-9:45 a.m. Practice Session 3
10:15-11 a.m. Practice Session 4
1 p.m. Qualifying SessionSUNDAY, June 20
Noon United States Grand Prix (73 laps)
The schedule for support series will be announced later.
Tickets for the 2004 United States Grand Prix at
Indianapolis are on sale. Fans can order tickets online at
www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS
ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside
the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information
also can be obtained through the ticket office.

2/24/04

QUIKSILVER to supply Jordan GP
Jordan Grand Prix today announces QUIKSILVER as an official
supplier, providing eyewear and time pieces to the team
during the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. Eddie
Jordan, Chief Executive of Jordan Grand Prix, said, “I think
it’s awesome that QUIKSILVER are going to be involved with
Jordan this year. Our companies are both about innovation,
performance, technology and design so our partnership is a
good fit. Formula One is an excellent environment to
reinforce QUIKSILVER’s brand of adrenaline-charged living
and I think they share Jordan’s brand values.” Pierre Agnès,
General Manager of QUIKSILVER, said, " Precision, superior
design and high performance have always been key features
within the world of Formula One. We strongly believe
QUIKSILVER share the same values when it comes to products.
We’re delighted to have become an official supplier of
Jordan Grand Prix with Quiksilver’s Time Pieces and Eyewear,
it clearly demonstrates our commitment and dedication to
exceed people’s expectations within those product
categories.” ------ Founded in Torquay, Australia, in the
late 60’s, QUIKSILVER has successfully managed to become the
leading brand in the world of boardriding, whilst remaining
true to its roots and values.

2/24/04

Levi's signs Jimmie Johnson
Levi Strauss says it has signed a sponsorship deal to make its
Signature line the exclusive apparel sponsor for Nextel Cup
driver Jimmie Johnson. The deal includes both retail and
at-track programs. The brand says it has also agreed to a
category-exclusive deal with NASCAR that will include usage
of the NASCAR trademarks and opportunities to partner on
special marketing programs. Financial terms were not
announced. NASCAR Scene
Daily Newsletter

Ferrari sports new wing at
Imola
This Autosport
article says, Ferrari has continued its aerodynamic
development program on the F2004 by running with a radical
new wing mounted on its engine cover during the test at
Imola. The new development, which resembles one run by
Toyota at Monaco in 2002, features two narrow aerodynamic
wings, each around 30cm long, sprouting from either side of
the airbox intake directly above the driver's head.
Rubens Barrichello was the first to run with the new
mid-wing yesterday (Monday), while Michael Schumacher has
taken over development work on the F2004 today.
Snow halted testing at the Italian track at lunchtime on
Tuesday, where the F2004 is going head-to-head against the
new cars of Williams and McLaren for the first time.
At the launch of the F2004, chief designer Rory Byrne had
promised there would be major aerodynamic developments to
the car before the first race. "They'll be
fairly substantial change to the aerodynamic components," he
said. "Things that will be obvious are the front-wing,
turning vanes and the aerodynamics at the rear of the car. I
don't want to say more than that, but there will be a
substantial change to the aerodynamics at the rear of the
car."

2/24/04Industry News

TAG Heuer confirms strong
racing commitmentUPDATE Bill Crisan writes
to say, Tissot is sponsoring AMA Supercross. They have a lot
of signage at races, and I think that they award a Tissot
watch to each weekly main event winner. Here's a
link for confirmation. 2/23/04 - TAG Heuer today confirms its strongest ever motor racing
commitment with, for the first time in the 144 years Company
history, an active involvement in the two major open wheel
racing disciplines in the world, namely Formula One and Indy
500/Indy Racing League.

In Formula One where the Company has been protagonist since
1969, TAG Heuer is happy to announce it has renewed and
extended its partnership with Team West McLaren-Mercedes and
its drivers, Kimi Raïkkönen, and David Coulthard. TAG Heuer
celebrates this year 20 years of partnership with the Team,
crowned by 8 FIA Formula 1 drivers world championship titles
won with Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen. TAG
Heuer becomes Corporate Partner and Official Timekeeper of
the Team. This is an important field where the Company has
built a unique experience since 1971 when it became
Timekeeper of Scuderia Ferrari, and 1992 with the
Timekeeping of the whole FIA Formula One championship.

TAG Heuer will more than ever work closely with Team West
McLaren-Mercedes engineers and drivers to develop unique
timepieces inspired by the pinnacle of motor racing, like
the Microtimer F1 or the new TAG Heuer Formula 1. TAG Heuer
will also be actively involved in the new McLaren Technical
Center as well as in McLaren-Mercedes roadcars projects and
timekeeping tests.

In the mythical Indy 500-mile race and with the Indy Racing
League, the world fastest races with the closest qualifying
and finish line gaps, TAG Heuer becomes the Official
Timekeeper and Chronograph. TAG Heuer is providing the IRL
championship and the Indy 500-mile race with 1/10’000th
second Timekeeping monitoring, that is 10 times more
accurate than any other sport worldwide (Formula One is
monitored at the 1/1000th of a second, Skiing at the 1/100th
of a second). To succeed in this new challenge and ensure
total focus of its engineers and resources, TAG Heuer has
decided to relinquish its FIA Formula One Timekeeping
activity after 12 years of participation. TAG Heuer wants to
thank the FIA, FOM and Allsport Management for their trust
and support over these fantastic years and wishes a similar
success to the new Timekeeper soon to be appointed.

In parallel to Timekeeping at the 1/10’000th of a second,
TAG Heuer will be the partner of IRL 2003 Champion, Scott
Dixon, bearing #1 on his car this season and favorite for
both 2004 title and Indy 500 race, as well as 3 years in a
row Most Popular Driver of the IRL, Sarah Fisher.

2/24/04

Did Champ Car sign a China deal yet?
Ford plans $1 billion China plant
U.S. auto giant Ford plans to build a second car plant in eastern
China to serve the booming area around the country's commercial hub,
the company said Monday, playing catch-up to arch-rival GM and others.
Ford, which aims to invest more than $1 billion in the world's fastest
growing major car market in coming years, signed an agreement on
Saturday that secured its rights to use land in Nanjing, a three-hour
drive from China's richest city, Shanghai. The new plant would
grant Ford access to the bustling eastern provinces as well as better
talent pools as it strives to compete against entrenched rivals
General Motors Corp and Volkswagen AG in the coastal markets.
But analysts said Ford's move may be too little too late, with those
two better-established rivals together controlling about half the
country's car sales. "They came to the market very late and this
makes their job of competing with GM and Volkswagen that much more
difficult," said Angela Gu, an analyst at Automotive Resources Asia,
an independent industry consultancy. "But the new plant is not
just closer to the main markets -- the labor pool is superior too," Gu
added.
Reuters

2/24/04

Waltrip: CART's loss could be
NASCAR's gain
In an apparent cost-cutting measure, the new owners of the racing
series formerly known as CART are replacing Steve Olvey and Terry
Trammel — doctors who led what might have been auto racing's finest
safety crew for more than 20 years. Former NASCAR champion
Darrell Waltrip sees that series' loss as an opportunity for the
Nextel Cup series to make tremendous safety gains. "I just can't
tell you what that would do for our sport in terms of credibility,"
says Waltrip, now an analyst for Fox Sports. Trammel, who has
been with CART for 22 years, will remain with the series as a
consultant but isn't expected to keep working with the safety team.
Olvey, who has been with CART for 25 years, will concentrate on his
full-time job as a neurosurgeon in Miami but wants to stay involved in
racing. Would Olvey be interested in working for NASCAR?
"Absolutely," he says. "I think NASCAR's made phenomenal strides in
the last 2½ years. I'd be excited, really, to talk to them and help
out any way I can." NASCAR officials could not be reached for
comment. Led by Olvey and Trammel for 22 years, the CART
series' traveling safety team has been consistently praised for its
quick, professional response to accidents. When driver Alex Zanardi's
legs were sheared off in a September 2001 accident, Trammel, Olvey and
others saved his life.
USA Today

2/24/04

Rockingham TV ratings
Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Subway 400 Nextel Cup race from North
Carolina Speedway in Rockingham was the most-watched sports program of
the weekend, today's Sports Business Daily reports. Overnight Nielsen
Media Research figures from the nation's largest markets show the race
drew a 6.3 rating and 14 share to easily outdistance the 4.4/9 that
ABC drew for Sunday's final round of the PGA Tour's Nissan Open. The
Daily says Fox's 6.3/14 was even with last year's overnight 6.3/13,
but up 11 percent from the 2002 race, also on Fox. Final figures for
the 2003 race were 6.7/16.
NASCAR Scene Daily
Newsletter

2/24/04

McNish flies on Audi return
Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx's drivers Allan McNish, Frank Biela, Jamie
Davies, Johnny Herbert, Pierre Kaffer and Guy Smith all spent time
behind the wheel at Road Atlanta this past weekend, which was held in
mixed weather conditions. All six drivers posted a lap time that would
have earned a front row grid position in the 2003 Petit Le Mans.
"Both cars did a race simulation lasting almost three hours during
Monday which was run in cool, overcast and showery weather
conditions," said Herbert. "I broke into the 1m11s [bracket], which
was pleasing, but the more rewarding aspect was the consistency of
pace throughout the race run by all three drivers, in changeable
conditions. Both cars are evenly matched – we started the race
simulation nose to tail and finished together." Audi returnee
McNish said: "I initially concentrated on getting used to driving a
sportscar again compared to the characteristics of a F1 car – like
right foot braking, changing up and down the gears and the extra
weight. The biggest difference from the Audi R8 I drove four years ago
is the FSI [petrol direct injection] engine which felt tremendous –
very smooth and drivable." McNish ultimately set the fastest
time during the test, a 1m11.26s on Monday morning.
Autosport

2/24/04

Tony George's goals - growth and
unification This USA Today
article says that the last time the Indy Racing League had
such a busy off-season, it was gearing up for an inaugural race at
Walt Disney World skeptics doubted would ever happen in an upstart
series that never should have happened.

The objective is different as the IRL prepares to open season nine
Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but the stir created this winter
was just as noteworthy.

Besides announcing that smaller engines would be used in the aftermath
of Kenny Brack's serious crash in Texas and the death of Tony Renna at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice in October, the IRL
floated plans to add road courses in 2005 right about the time that
rival Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was entering bankruptcy.

Seeing an opportunity to achieve that latter goal, the IRL bid $13.5
million for CART's assets before a federal judge last month rejected
it, leaving open-wheel racing divided for another year. The failed
overture nonetheless sent a clear message the IRL accepts temporary
setbacks as part of long-term vision that includes racing on
ovals and street courses, a schedule of 18-22 events and possibly
expanding into the New York metropolitan area.

"We had a lot of interesting things happen in the off-season," IRL
founder Tony George said Monday in a meeting with USA TODAY editors.

"We have a solid core group of teams that are well prepared and well
financed coming to Homestead. ... We think it's going to be a season
that we continue to build on (as it) progresses."

No road courses are set to date, but several former domestic
CART sites such as Mid-Ohio and Detroit could be considered for their
2005 season. George also expressed interest in racing in
Canada (Toronto) and Mexico (Mexico City) to complement its current
stop at Motegi, Japan. [Editor's Note: On Wind Tunnel
Monday night Tony said two, but probably four road courses because
that was the minimum number needed to make it economically viable to
the teams who have an expense to gear up for road course racing.]

He's also curious about New York City, an area also targeted by
NASCAR as a long-term goal. CART once competed nearby on temporary
ovals at the Meadowlands complex, an option George dismissed in favor
of a permanent facility. And when it's viable.

As part of that process the IRL has enacted several measures for
safety and cost containment, including:

• Cars that can run on ovals and road courses. Brian Barnhart, the
IRL's senior vice president of operations, said 75% of its cars' parts
are compatible with racing on ovals, street and road courses.

• Limiting the number of engines used on race weekends. Better known
as the single-engine rule, in which teams must use the same motor for
practice, qualifying and the race on two-day race weekends. Teams can
change engines before qualifying on three-day weekends, but must stick
with that engine throughout or start from the back.

• Elimination of private tests. Teams recently finished open tests at
Homestead and Phoenix, with others upcoming at Indianapolis and
Milwaukee. Barnhart estimated that could save teams $1 million a year.

• Reducing engines from 3.5 liters to 3.0 liters, starting with the
Indianapolis 500 in May. This resulted from a spate of speeds topping
230 mph last year at the 2.5-mile Brickyard, as well as concern
following Brack's high-speed wreck that he's still recovering from.

"Our goal is to maintain the ability to pass," Barnhart said. "We want
to maintain performance, but also the quality of our races."

Quality is not the problem for the IRL as much as getting viewers to
watch, especially when compared with NASCAR. IRL senior vice president
of business affairs Ken Ungar said it has had "good discussions" with
ABC and ESPN regarding its race broadcasts, the immediate result being
more promotion for Sunday's race.

While aware of public and media perception that his pursuit of CART
was done with the intent of shutting it down, he said unity was his
goal and believes it's still possible within three to five years.

"We strive to be leaders in motorsports entertainment and look
to improve and love it so much that I'd be astonished if we couldn't
bring it together sooner than that," he said. "I'm surprised it hasn't
happened by now."

2/24/04

Ecclestone admits to interest in CART This
Pitpass.com article
says that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has finally admitted that he
did consider making a bid for the troubled CART series which has
recently been purchased by the Open Wheel Racing Series group.
Although Ecclestone was rumored to be eyeing the series, the
Englishman vehemently denied any interest. Many believed that
Ecclestone could use CART to boost F1's image in North America. "They
waited for me to raise the necessary amount before they signed on
others," he has told the American media, "but I just couldn't get the
money together. "We'll have to wait and see how they survive," he
added. "I was hoping to get them together with the IRL and then I
think it would have worked." [Editor's Note: We do not
believe the whole story is being told here. Bernie has a
non-compete clause with F1 via the Concorde Agreement. We do not
see how that would have allowed him to own another open-wheel series
unless all parties agreed and we don't see the manufacturers in F1
agreeing to Bernie diverting any of his attention away from F1.
What we believe is happening is a peaceful agreement to cooperate
behind the scenes between OWRS and Bernie and to look for
opportunities to work together and to not step on each others toes in
the same market. It is quite possible that the replacement for
the Concorde Agreement, which is in its final stages of being written
up, won't include a non-compete clause for Bernie. If it
doesn't, that would open the door for Bernie to buy into Champ Car and
use it in conjunction with F1 as he sells racing events around the
world. As we have maintained for a long time, Bernie is in
business to make money from putting on races, and the more races he
can stage, the more he will make. If he had Champ Car in his
back pocket, he could pick and choose where to sell F1 and where to
sell Champ Car depending on how much the promoter, many times the
local government, can afford. If he doesn't buy into Champ Car,
they still can foster a working relationship much like NASCAR and the
IRL have formed. Mark C.]

On the air Two-time
IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., will appear on the ESPN2
morning show, "Cold Pizza" on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The show airs from 7-9
a.m. (EST). The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season begins with the
Toyota Indy 300 at 2 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 29, at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN and the IMS Radio
Network.

2/23/04

AGR adds associate sponsor Forsythe
Solutions Group, Inc., will continue as an associate sponsor on Dario
Franchitti's No. 27 Arca/Ex Dallara/Honda/Firestone for the 2004
season after signing an increased associated sponsorship deal on Feb.
23. "We're very pleased to announce Forsythe's return as an
associate sponsor at Andretti Green Racing," team owner Michael
Andretti said. "Forsythe is a very successful organization and is an
industry leader, which makes it an excellent partner for our race
team." Forsythe, a national provider of technology
infrastructure solutions, joined Andretti Green in 2003 at the
Indianapolis 500.

2/23/04

XM Radio to sponsor Herta Andretti
Green Racing's No. 7 Honda-powered Dallara, which is driven by Bryan
Herta, will carry the colors and branding of XM Satellite Radio during
the 2004 IndyCar® Series season. XM will make its official debut
on the car Feb. 29 when Herta and his AGR teammates open the season at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. XM is America's No. 1 satellite
radio service, with more than 1.5 million subscribers. Broadcasting
live daily from studios in Washington, D.C., New York City and
Nashville, Tenn., at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2004 lineup
includes more than 120 digital channels of choice from coast to coast:
68 commercial-free music channels, featuring hip hop to opera,
classical to country, bluegrass to blues; 32 channels of premier
sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and
more than 20 channels of the most advanced traffic and weather
information for major metropolitan areas nationwide.

2/23/04

IRL starts season with only 18 cars This
AP
article gives a preview of the upcoming season opener in
Homestead. Only 18 cars are slated to take the green flag and
that includes 4 cars from Andretti Green Racing. If not for
that, they would be down to 16 cars, two less than the Champ Car World
Series. As Derrick Walker says in the article, there should be
at least 36 open-wheel racers this year. The problem is: They're
divided between two rival series. Champ Cars, which picked up the
remains of CART, plans a 15-race season with at least 18 cars,
including defending CART champion Paul Tracy. For now, there's
no sign of a reconciliation, which most believe is vital to rebuilding
open-wheel racing to the popularity it once enjoyed. "If we had
one series, we would have about 36 cars," Walker said. "Thirty-six
cars trying to get into any given race. That would be what we see in
NASCAR. That would be a hell of a show. The Indy 500 would be what it
used to be. "That's the dilemma we have. We have two series. It
needs to be one."

2/23/04

Chevy happy with Indy 500 plans The
IRL IndyCar® Series will switch from 3.5-liter engines to 3.0-liter
engines starting at the Indianapolis 500 in May, and Chevrolet is on
target with its plans for the new powerplant.

"The 3.0-liter engine program is on schedule," said Joe Negri, GM
Racing IRL program manager. "All of the necessary components have been
designed and are now being manufactured."

Chevrolet is one of the three engine suppliers for the series, along
with Honda and Toyota. Negri said Chevrolet can currently field
engines for six team and hopes to support up to 10 teams at
Indianapolis. He said the marque could add another full-time team
after the Indy 500.

"We will have prototype 3.0-liter Chevy Indy V8 engines running on the
dyno in the near future," Negri said. "The IRL has given the
manufacturers an additional day of private track testing with the
3.0-liter engines, and we are aiming to have a good supply of engines
for the Open Test in Indianapolis in late April. Until then, we are
using computer simulation to optimize engine tuning and to accelerate
the development program."

2/23/04

LVMS almost sold out
Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for the March 7 UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Track officials announced
Monday that only a few hundred tickets remain for this year’s event.
“We simply want people to know that seats still are available for the
race,” said Chris Powell, LVMS general manager. “Ticket sales this
year have been as brisk as ever, and sometimes the perception in the
public is that there is nothing available. There still is time to buy
tickets. “The great demand continues to reflect the strength of
NASCAR racing in Las Vegas as well as the excellent overall experience
that people enjoy when they come to here for a major motorsports
event. There is no question that this year’s race weekend will provide
the largest boom yet for our local economy. “Additionally, we’re
confident of breaking last year’s attendance mark for the Sam’s Town
300 Busch Series event on Saturday, March 6.” Among the seats
still available are handfuls in both the Dale Earnhardt Terrace, the
new, 22,000-seat grandstand; and the Vegas Clubhouse, prime seats that
allow guests to visit the speedway party rooms, enjoy buffet meals and
have wait service at their seats. To purchase tickets, fans can
call the speedway’s ticket office at 1-800-644-4444 or log on to
www.lvms.com.

2/23/04

Grand-Am hires former CART
Communication Director Grand American Road Racing
Association announced today the appointment of veteran motorsports
public relations professional Adam Saal to the position of Director of
Communications. In his new role, Saal will manage all public relations
and corporate communications for Grand American, the Rolex Sports Car
Series and the Grand-Am Cup Series. Saal, who has managed in the past
the public relations efforts for CART, IMSA, Indy Lights and the Grand
Prix Association of Long Beach, also served on an interim basis as the
first public relations representative for Grand American in early
2000. "We are delighted to have Adam back on a fulltime basis," said
Grand American President Roger Edmondson. "He played a key part in our
successful debut four years ago, and I am sure we will benefit even
more from his leadership, experience and professionalism now that he
has joined us fulltime in Daytona Beach. Adam's experience in the
sport and solid rapport with the national and international media make
him an ideal fit on the Grand American team." Saal's appointment
continues the expansion of Grand American's communications department.
Last month, fourth-year Public Relations Manager Christie Hyde was
joined by former Grand American intern Lauren McCrystal, who was
appointed to the position of Public Relations Coordinator. The current
team of three is the largest fulltime communications department to
date for Grand American.

2/23/04

Shelby
named Grand Marshal Legendary
driver and car builder Carroll Shelby will serve as Grand
Marshal at the 52nd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
America's oldest and most prestigious sports car race begins
at 10:30 am on Saturday, March 20, and will open the 2004
American Le Mans Series season. As a driver
Shelby won numerous road racing events, highlighted by a
victory at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. His stellar career
includes a second place finish at Sebring in 1955,
co-driving with Phil Hill.

As a car builder and team owner, Shelby achieved historic
success with his Cobras, which won several GT victories at
Sebring and other circuits around the world during the
1960s. In addition, his Shelby American racing team also
engineered a historic win for Ford at the 1966 Sebring
endurance classic, with Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby driving.

Shelby continues as a leading figure in the automotive
industry. He will be inducted into the Sebring Sports Car
Racing Hall of Fame on Friday, March 19, along with Stirling
Moss, Mario Andretti, Bob and Al Holbert, Bobby Rahal and
race official Ford Heacock, Sr.

"We
are delighted to have a true living legend of motorsports
serving as Grand Marshal," said Raceway President Tres
Stephenson. "Carroll Shelby's achievements are remarkable,
and we are honored to have him back at Sebring."

It was 40 years ago that Shelby Cobras recorded a historic
GT class win at Sebring, trouncing Ferrari and taking fourth
place overall with Bob Holbert and Dave MacDonald driving a
Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. The following year, Bob
Bondurant and Jo Schlesser gave Shelby another GT class win
at Sebring, helping Shelby win the GT Manufacturers World
Championship. Shelby-built cars also won their class in
1963, 1966 and 1967. Shelby's potent form of the Mustang
raced at Sebring as late as 1977. Since then he has
continued to work as a consultant and builder of several
other race cars.

The Sebring "Gallery of Legends" display in the paddock will
feature several historic race cars from Sebring's past,
including a rare Shelby Daytona Coupe.

2/23/04

Feedback on the next generation Champ
CarsUPDATE Another
reader writes, Although Mr. Kleine makes some good points, I
think he's being overly simplistic with his size ideas.
Champ Cars are already exponentially more difficult to work
on than an IRL car because they are packaged so much
tighter. It's easy to say "make it shorter and narrower" but
Lola can't run their chassis through Photoshop to chop off a
few inches here and there. And they don't have F1 budgets to
work the miracles they do in F1. Since the switch to a
normally aspirated V-10 will probably result in a longer
engine block and the average driver is taller than Danica
Patrick, a shorter chassis is probably never going to be
feasible. The switch to gas seems inevitable, if only for
the marketing/sponsorship advantage. That, combined with
eliminating ground effects and the large sidepods could
potentially result in a narrower car. I think that's far
more important than wheelbase, anyway. If the dinky parking
lot street courses are thrown out, there's no need for a
shorter wheelbase.

Losing ground effects will come at a price one way or
another. If you eliminate all that downforce and keep the
sleek nature of the current chassis, the cars will be taking
fast turns about the speed of a FF2000 and will probably be
very unstable at speed and on ovals. If you make up for the
lack of ground effects by utilizing every square inch of
bodywork to generate downforce you'll end up with something
exactly as ugly as a Formula One car and with an enormous
wind tunnel bill to boot.

There's clearly no easy answer. Higher profile tires are
probably a good idea. Weight reduction is definitely a good
idea, but not at the expense of safety. And after all that,
yes, I do have a point. As I've said before, the cars aren't
necessarily the problem. Look at where the Champ Cars shine
right now: fast tracks with room to pass. Driving around a
parking lot because it's in a good market might be
successful for a few years until fans get bored with it, but
it will probably hurt the series in the long run, or at
least alienate the real racing fans. Get the cars on good
tracks. If they're not in this country, so be it. Do what
you need to to get them at the Road Atlantas and Mosports.
If the series manages to become hugely successful again,
maybe we'll see more efforts in this country like Barber
Motorsports Park, but for four wheels. Age Manocchia,
Syracuse, NY2/21/04 - The
opposing view presented by Robert Kleine from Germany on our vision for
the next generation Champ Car has produced quite a number of emails.
Here are a few: Dear AutoRacing1.com, After reading the latest
article about the next generation Champ Car I would like to put in my
two cents worth. First, I think your vision of the next Champ Car is
right on the money. Mr. Kleine had some very good points but I very
much disagree with "cheap F1 clones". I think that if your ideas were
implemented by OWRS it would quickly set the Champ Cars apart from F1
and the IRL. First, the Champ Cars run a much more diverse schedule
than F1 and IRL. Second, you now have a car that requires a lot more
skill to drive. Flat bottoms, no traction or launch control, standard
chassis, tires, and a screaming 750HP V-10 would be real handful.
Throw in standing starts and OWRS will have a winner on their hands. I
personally think these cars would be far more exciting to watch than
F1 or the oval cartel's crapwagons. I have a gut feeling OWRS has
already figured this out. I see a bright future for the Champ Cars.
Doug Parr In the latest article about the next generation
Champ Car the author forgets one thing. All open wheel cars were
lengthened to protect the drivers legs in the case of a crash,
specifically in a crash on a high speed oval. Therefore you cannot
shorten the front end of the car. The air boxes though could be like
the Lotus 78 where the intakes were on either side of the head or the
Benetton F1 car that had the intake on either side of the cockpit.
Kelly O'Connor Altoona, Iowa While I agree with you that
Robert Kleine has missed your point completely on the next generation
Champ Car, there is 1 thing I want to take issue with. Paddle
shifters. The problem with the modern day F1 car is that all the high
tech stuff, traction control, anti-lock brakes, paddle shifters etc.
eliminates the opportunities for the driver to make mistakes. This
produces boring racing with no passing. Contrast this with NASCAR
where the dopey drivers make mistakes all the time (even just getting
into the pits under green) and their competitors take advantage of it.
Aerodynamics and high tech have just about destroyed the racing series
where they have been allowed free reign. It is not a coincidence that
NASCAR is the lowest tech AND fastest growing racing series in the
world. Science takes the people out of the sport and fans relate to
people not computers. The next generation Champ Car should have; A) Minimum
aerodynamic assistance. Give it just enough downforce so it won't fly
at 220 MPH and mandate a minimum amount of suspension travel so the
tracks don't have to be billiard table smooth. B) NO electronic driver
aids such as traction control, anti-lock braking, active suspension
and no electronic communication between gearbox and engine. C) a good
old fashioned H pattern shifter with a clutch pedal so that drivers
have to do things like double clutch and heel and toe downshift. Yes I
know they'll miss a shift occasionally. That's called driver error and
we have to bring those back in order to bring the racing back. Part of
being a racing driver should be working 3 pedals with 2 feet with 1
hand on the wheel and 1 hand on the shift lever. Part of being a team
owner is paying for the damage when the driver makes a mistake and
overrevs it. Anyway the engines are going to be rev limited to control
costs, how much damage can a missed shift do? Next let's discuss
putting the excitement back into Champ Car pit stops. Hint; it
involves getting the guys up off their knees in the pit box and making
them move around. Great site, keep up the good work- Gary Stratton

2/23/04

Moving day in Indy for
Fernández Fernández
Racing and Super Aguri Fernández Racing will see some of
their busy off-season preparations come to fruition today
with a move into a brand-new facility in Indianapolis.
Construction on the 27,000 sq. ft. race shop – more than
double the teams’ previous workspace – began last fall.
Moving day, however, will not involve a lot of travel miles
as the new building is located directly across the street
from the teams’ former base. An Open House will be planned
in the upcoming months. New Address:
Fernández Racing/Super Aguri Fernández Racing
6835 Guion Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268 Phone and fax numbers remain unchanged:
(317) 299-5100
(317) 280-3051 Fax
For additional information on Fernández Racing and Super
Aguri Fernández Racing, please visit
http://www.fernandezracing.net and
http://www.superagurifernandezracing.net.

2/23/04Industry News

Lime Rock launches new website
If you haven’t visited
www.limerock.com recently you should. Lime Rock Park’s
official website has been renovated, remodeled,
reconditioned, refreshed and refurbished. In short, it’s
totally different. The site is the one source for anything
you need to know about the Road Racing Center of the East,
and the new
www.limerock.com has more information than ever. Fans
will find more spectator information, more contact
information, how they can become a part of our team through
the Lime Rock Race Club and how to sign up to get the Track
Record, our four-color, 16-page newsletter. The new
www.limerock.com is
also easier to navigate, too. The six category listings at
the top of the page feature drop down menus that give you
instant access to every page. And some of the most important
information, such as how to buy tickets, how to get to Lime
Rock and the current weather, is right on the home page.
Fans can also find the latest news about Lime Rock and
information pertaining to the race series that will be
competing at the track. The site was designed by New Wave
Industries, Inc., which is based in Newington, Conn. New
Wave Industries is a technology solutions provider with a
wide variety of services, including website design,
programming, internet access, multi-media services, software
development, mini CDs and kiosk development. You can’t learn
more about Lime Rock Park anywhere else. So when you’re
surfing the Web, check out the new
www.limerock.com.

2/23/04

Waltrip keeping the hatch
NASCAR's investigation after the Daytona 500 of Michael Waltrip's
battered stock car revealed that the roof escape hatch, while bent,
held firm. The team said Waltrip, who at 6-foot-5 is the tallest
Nextel Cup driver, will continue to use the escape hatch design on his
car. Waltrip's #15 NAPA Chevy went into a tight barrel roll, flipping
at least three times, on the back straightaway in the first half of
the 500 and came to rest on its roof on the infield grass. The roof
hatch "bowed" according the Waltrip's crew chief Slugger Labbe, but
the structure remained intact. "The flip he took, he landed on the
right front corner of the roof and it pushed the halo over to the left
and the roll cage shrunk on the top, so to speak, and the roof hatch
was the weakest point and it bowed in a little bit," Labbe said. "The
pins still released and everything. The pins did their job but the
roof hatch was caved in but that was probably one of the worst flips
you will ever see." The battered car was shipped directly from Daytona
International Speedway to the NASCAR Research and Development Center
in Concord, NC, for study. Gary Nelson, managing director of the R&D
facility, said the car was inspected Tuesday and Wednesday by NASCAR
engineers then released to Labbe Thursday morning. "The whole top was
crumpled and bent but the integrity of the escape hatch were still
there," Nelson said. "The hinges were still connected to all the parts
which is what we look at. We haven't found that any of the systems
were compromised," Nelson said. "None of the systems had gone bad.
None of the systems, such as roll bars, driver restraints, any of the
things designed to protect the driver, were compromised." Waltrip was
pinned in his car for several minutes but Labbe said his movement was
not limited by the bent roof hatch. Waltrip's car won't be heading to
the junkyard. Teresa Earnhardt, who owns Dale Earnhardt Inc., said the
stock car would be put on display in the Earnhardt Museum, located at
the massive DEI race shop near Charlotte, NC.Mooresville
Daytona Beach News Journal

2/23/04

Ganassi says he was robbed
They were lined up behind the NASCAR hauler before Sunday's Subway 400
had even concluded at North Carolina Speedway. Ganassi Racing owners
Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates staked out a position at the entrance,
and were soon joined by Donnie Wingo, crew chief for driver Jamie
McMurray, and team manager Andy Graves. They were there to protest the
win of #17-Matt Kenseth, claiming Kenseth and second-place finisher
#9-Kasey Kahne were not on the lead lap and McMurray, who was third,
should have been the winner. Ganassi and Sabates contended when
Kenseth and Kahne pitted under green on Lap 350 and a caution then
came out, they should have been scored a lap down. Rather, NASCAR
corrected the scoring and put them back on the lead lap. When the
other lead-lap cars then pitted, Kenseth and Kahne moved into the
first and second positions for the final restart. McMurray, who was
the race leader when the caution came out, restarted third. "We just
got robbed in front of a 100,000 people," Ganassi said. "Even if you
say they froze the field, we had (Kenseth) and (Kahne) split and
should have been no better than second. They come in the pits and then
it goes yellow, and then we go in the pits as the race leader and come
out third. How does that work?" While the Ganassi group waited
for NASCAR officials to return from race control, driver Mark Martin
joined them. He, along with car owner Jack Roush, were summoned to the
hauler because NASCAR felt Martin, a lapped car, was blocking the race
leaders on the final restart of the race. Strangely enough, one of the
drivers Martin was racing in the incident was McMurray. So, when
Martin arrived, he and Sabates got into a brief profanity-laced
exchange before they all went up in the hauler. Roush, meanwhile, was
still celebrating Kenseth's win in Victory Lane, and didn't join the
group until much later. After nearly 40 minutes, Ganassi and Sabates
came out declaring NASCAR was not going to change its decision, but
emphasizing their belief McMurray was the winner. "There was no
explanation. There was no reviewing (of tape). Nothing," Sabates said.
"Sometimes you win, sometimes you get the shaft and sometimes you get
the elevator. We got the shaft this time." And what of NASCAR's
explanation? "Now that we don't race back to the yellow, when the
yellow comes out, all the positions are frozen. It was our
determination in timing and scoring (Kenseth) and (Kahne) were still
on the lead lap when the caution came out. We gave them what they lost
when the pace car went by them and gave them that lap back." The
reasoning didn't sit well with the Ganassi group, who left frustrated
and angry. And Martin didn't appear particularly satisfied with his
visit either when he finally emerged from the hauler. "I'm
disappointed because the people in the sport know I have a lot of
integrity," he said. "I watched it on the tape and I didn't see
anything. I was racing and wasn't in anybody's way."
ThatsRacin.com

2/23/04

Ecclestone crashes and burns again
Once thought infallible, F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone is starting to
show he's not. Hot on the heels of his failed digital TV deal
comes word Bernie Ecclestone has crashed and burned out of the
publishing business as well. Ecclestone has closed his monthly
magazine, EuroBusiness, marking the end of his mini-publishing empire.
He shut his other publication, the glossy F1 magazine, earlier this
month.

EuroBusiness staff were told as they were going to press on Monday
that it would be the last issue. Mr. Ecclestone has been trying to
sell the magazine, which had a print run of 80,000, for some months.
The Barclay brothers, who are trying to take control of The Telegraph,
made an offer but withdrew just before Christmas.

Another bid was tabled in the last few days, but it is understood Mr.
Ecclestone turned it down because it would not assume all the
magazine's liabilities. The title employed eight full-time staff, as
well as freelancers.

He has retained the rights to the title but does not think it
profitable enough to continue publishing. Its total debt of less than
£1m is thought to be almost matched by the money owed to the company.
Mr. Ecclestone funded the £4m launch of EuroBusiness in 1999 to
coincide with the launch of the European single currency. It aimed for
a circulation of 110,000.

The news that Mr. Ecclestone has closed his F1 magazine comes just two
weeks before the start of the Formula One season. The glossy monthly
title was thought to have cost over £200,000 an issue to produce.
However, it suffered from the downturn in the market for F1
sponsorship.

2/23/04

Daytona penalties doled out
Crew chief Jimmy Fennig was fined $20,000 by NASCAR for weights
improperly attached to a bar reinforcing the rear bumper on the #97
Ford entered for driver Kurt Busch for the Daytona 500. The fine
against Fennig was the highest announced Saturday by NASCAR officials,
who penalized a total of eight crew chiefs and two drivers for
infractions at Daytona. NASCAR said it found pellets that were, in its
judgment, added for the purpose of increasing the weight of the rear
bumper cover on the #97 Sharpie Ford.
Ken Francis, crew chef for the #91 Dodge Bill Elliott drove in the Bud
Shootout, was fined $5,000 for a non-approved rear deck lid.
Other penalties assessed were:

$500
for Anthony Gibson, crew chief on the #1 Maxwell House/Post Chevy of John
Andretti, for an unapproved air directional device and another $500 for a
gap in the rear coil spring that did not meet specifications.

$500
for Mike Hillman, crew chief for Derrike Cope's #50 Dodge, for an air filter
housing that had more than two holes drilled in the bottom.

$500
for Greg Steadman, crew chief for #45-Kyle Petty, and Gary Putnam, crew
chief for #43-Jeff Green, for use of unapproved air directional devices.

$500
for drivers #2-Rusty Wallace and #72-Kirk Shelmerdine for using
head-and-neck restraint devices on which manufacturer's dates had expired.
ThatsRacin.com

2/23/04

NASCAR costs through the roof This
Winston-Salem Journal
article says, Sterling Marlin just shook his head: "A set of
pistons used to cost $2,000. Now a set costs $7,000, because we're all
going to lighter-weight stuff. "Rocker arms used to be $1,200 to
$1,500 a set; they're $7,000 a set now, and you can't run 'em but one
race. For higher RPM. "If they want to see racing survive,
somebody has to sit up and take notice. We just can't keep going like
this... or next year rocker arms will be $12,000 a set. Somewhere,
it's got to stop." It's the story this season throughout the
NASCAR garage, with team owners crying the blues. Those that are still
around, at least. Richard Childress agrees with Marlin that the
RPM race has gone too far: "These engines have gotten totally out of
hand, and RPM are dollars, with all the light pieces we're using in
the engines. A set of valve springs might once have cost $250, now
they're $1,250 or more. Our engines are costing a hell of a lot more
today than five years ago." Several veteran owners have simply
called it quits, some with a smile of relief after cashing in their
chips. Jim Smith is skipping Rockingham and is rethinking plans
to run Las Vegas. Bill Davis has had to lay off people from Dave
Blaney's team and halt that operation for a while. Even Dale Earnhardt
Inc. is only hanging on to its third team by a thread, without a
sponsor. "I'd hate to be a car owner, ain't no way, no way in
the world," Marlin said. It is the age-old racing question - how
to cut costs. [Editor's note: Look for this to lead
NASCAR to come up with a spec engine to go along with their spec
bodies. Whether they rename the series to IROC remains to be
seen.]

On the technical front, these are some
ideas being bandied about the garage for France to consider:

• Cutting back on the number of body templates and curbing the
repeated, costly changes. Childress has budgeted an unexpected
$300,000 more per team already this year for new body rules. "When
you've got five race teams," Childress said, "that's a hell of a lot
more money to have to find."

• Rationing tires, Jeff Burton suggests, as NASCAR does with the Busch
tour. "We've put in an extra $300,000 per team for tires right off the
bat, based on what we saw when testing Vegas," Childress said. "Our
tire bill at Daytona was a lot higher this year than last year."

• Putting major limits on engine parts and high RPM technology. "I
know NASCAR is looking at some ways to address it," Childress said.
"But we're at 9,700 RPM right now, and when you run that much, just
about everything you take out of the engine after a race has to be
thrown away." Jack Roush and others are already at 10,000.

One driver raised an even more dramatic cost-cutting option - that
NASCAR issue full-shell molded bodies, registered and numbered the way
NAS-CAR does with car noses and tails. "With a $1 million fine for any
alterations."

2/23/04

Pioneer renews with Jaguar
Pioneer Europe NV is today pleased to announce it is a major partner
of Jaguar Racing for the 2004 Formula One Season. Pioneer partnered
with Jaguar Racing in the 2003 Formula One series and has supported
the team with expertise and innovation to compliment the already
technically advanced Formula One environment. Marnix Somers, Director,
Consumer Plasma Division, Pioneer Europe NV, said, "Formula One and
Pioneer have many rational and emotional values in common. They stand
for internationality, innovative power, expertise and an exacting,
almost perfectionist, quality standard. Pioneer's involvement has a
dual function that includes extending the awareness for the brand
through global image building activities, as well as opening up
innovative marketing channels. Pioneer is pleased to be supporting the
Jaguar Racing team and look forward to working together over the
seasons to come. The ultimate fast sport and the ultimate
up-to-the-minute stylish technology - a perfect match. Our expectation
is that this partnership will play a particularly important role in
extending Pioneer's brand image, as the 2004 Formula One World
Championship Series run not only in Europe, but also in Australia,
Malaysia, Canada, USA, Japan, China and Brazil, where Pioneer has a
presence." David Pitchforth, Managing Director, Jaguar Racing, said,
"We are delighted that Pioneer has extended its relationship with us.
We have worked very productively over the last six months and our
mutual passion for technological leadership is parallel to Jaguar's
goal of challenging for top honors in the long term. Jaguar Racing is
aiming to be a world class technology company with the best in class
engineering capability and Pioneer's support alongside us will help
accelerate this process."

2/23/04

NASCAR drivers warned NASCAR
drivers have been warned to cut down on swearing during interviews by
the sport’s executives, in a bid to protect its image. Mike Helton,
president of NASCAR, addressed drivers prior to this weekend’s races
and reminded them that the wide demographic which has made the sport
such a success could be damaged by two much cursing. Helton told the
drivers: “When being interviewed, please understand you are talking to
an audience from 8 to 80 years old. “You have a greater responsibility
than we've ever had before.''

Schumacher slams Williams
Ralf Schumacher has hit out at Williams boss Frank Williams after the
apparent stalling of his contract negotiations with the Formula One
team. Schumacher is angry that the deal has not been
finalized and has accused Williams of suddenly retracting a new
contract that was all set to be signed. “Even if me and my
manager Willi Weber would find it hard to leave behind our friends at
BMW, there’s a chance it could happen,” Schumacher told the Bild am
Sonntag newspaper. “It would be sad but I can’t allow myself to
be treated like that that by Williams. I’m not frustrated,” he
continued. “But I find it hard to understand certain things that have
happened these past few months.”

Schumacher also claims that Williams have accused him of only being
interested in the money. “Frank Williams says I’m nothing but a
money-grabber. I can only laugh at that. He knows that I would accept
to cut my current salary in half,” added Schumacher.

Schumacher revealed he was furious when Williams failed to turn up to
sign a new contract last year. “I wanted to sign. We scheduled a
meeting for the final race of the season in Japan but Frank Williams
wasn’t there and then he suddenly pulled the offer. On a human
level I’m very disappointed with him.”
Sky Sports

2/22/04

Bahrain praised by world media
International broadcast and print media were singing praise of
Bahrain's Formula One preparations a day after the F1 Fever gripped
the Kingdom. Large media delegations including teams from CNN, LBC,
Reuters TV, MBC, ART, Heya and Future TV were present at the King
Faisal Highway on Thursday afternoon to see Sauber Petronas test
driver Neel Jani race in a C22 car.

Thursday's events were reported by more than 100 TV stations world
wide and attracted more than 20,000 spectators, according to a Press
release from the Bahrain International Circuit which hosts the Gulf
Air Grand Prix on April 4, the first of its kind in the Middle East.

Future TV's Formula One presenter Marwan Rassi and Art's Ayman Abdul
Wahid were very impressed with the spectator turn out. Firas Nimri, of
Sport Auto, the leading motor sporting magazine in the region, was
also present to witness this memorable event.

Bahrain Arabic Radio transmitted the entire event live. "Today I
realized that Bahrain has more motor sporting fans than any other
sport. The attendance was phenomenal and unexpected," said one of the
journalists.

Karin Salama, Future TV presenter famous for hosting the 'Hala
February' festival in Kuwait was the official MC for the event.

More than 50 publications from around the region attended the event
and experienced the sound, smell and feel of a Formula One car.

"The F1 Fever event which only had one car made Bahrain an
international vocal point. The experience we created will be
unforgettable for everyone present and the image of the Sauber
Petronas car speeding on the roads of Manama will be remembered
forever," said BIC chairman Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

2/22/04

Malaysia preparations are in full swing
Preparations for next month’s Formula One Petronas Malaysian Grand
Prix at the Sepang F1 Circuit has gone full swing with the race track
officially being closed yesterday. In a statement here
yesterday, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) general manager Ahmad
Mustafa said only preparatory activities related to the F1 race were
allowed on the track. “It is going to be very busy at the
track from today especially with the setting up of the tents and
canopies for the television and telecommunication crews,” said Ahmad
who is also the event director for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

2/22/04Industry News

Ganassi no longer on Pittsburgh Pirates
board The Pirates confirmed Thursday that the club's board
of directors no longer includes racing giant Chip Ganassi and a North
Carolina businessman. Ganassi of Fox Chapel, who leads
racing teams on the NASCAR and Indy Racing League circuits said he
would continue to go to games, but that the time was right to cash in.
"We got involved before because it was an opportunity to try and keep
the team in Pittsburgh," said Ganassi. "We did that. Now, it's time
for the ownership group to get on with the business of running a
team."

2/22/04

Olvey and Trammell not renewed by OWRS2nd
UPDATE
This SPEED TV article
has quotes from Olvey, Trammell and Gentilozzi and pretty much tells
all sides of the story. Champ Car's new medical director, Dr.
Chris Pinderski, has worked side-by-side with Olvey and Trammell for
10 years at CART events. 2/21/04 -
AutoRacing1.com has learned that Dr. Trammell will be back with Champ
Car. From what we now understand, only Dr. Olvey will not be
retained. 2/21/04 - [Editor's Note:
There is more to this story than what is being told here, and it's
probably not what you think. We have been aware of this
situation for a few weeks and were awaiting an official announcement
from OWRS. We can tell you that Champ Car has a long list of
military trauma and emergency doctors from which to pick from who have
the necessary experience to treat crash victims. It's too
bad that the likeable Olvey and Trammell will not be back with Champ
Car, but as they say, no one is irreplaceable. One can assume
the drivers, if injured, would use Olvey and Trammell to treat their
injuries at the hospital or afterwards, but at the track we will see
new doctors in 2004.] This Reuters
article says, The two doctors who saved Italian driver Alex
Zanardi's life in 2001 as part of the Champ Car safety team have not
been retained to provide medical care by the CART series' new owners
Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS). Dr Stephen Olvey, a professor
and director of the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at Jackson
Memorial Hospital/University of Miami, will no longer be involved with
the series, which opens in Long Beach, California on April 18.
Dr Terry Trammell, an orthopedic surgeon based in Indianapolis, will
continue to work for the series but only in an advisory role related
to 2005 chassis design. "After 22 years neither myself nor Terry
will be providing medical care at the race track this year," said
Olvey, who established the CART safety team that eventually included a
mobile medical unit to provide on-the-scene medical care. Their
work paralleled the medical support provided by Dr Sid Watkins in
Formula One.

Former CART champion Zanardi, who has also driven in Formula One for
Lotus and Williams, survived a near fatal high speed crash at the
Lausitzring, Germany in September, 2001 but lost two liters of blood
and had to have both legs amputated. Zanardi told Reuters by
phone: "I can't imagine two doctors with not only the experience but
the passion for the sport. I wouldn't be talking to you today if it
were not for them." Late last year Olvey had discussions with
one of the three OWRS principals about continuing to work for the
series on a cost reduction basis but recently was told by e-mail that
his contract would not be renewed as it previously existed. An
OWRS spokesman declined to comment. CART, which began racing in
1979, became a public company in 1998 but filed for bankruptcy last
year after its shares plummeted. In January a federal bankruptcy judge
awarded the assets of the bankrupt CART series to OWRS.

2/22/04

Ferrari continues testing this weekend
With off and on rain all day, the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team
tested at the Mugello circuit on Saturday. Rubens Barrichello took to
the track at the wheel of an F2004. The day’s program centered on
development of the new car. Barrichello completed a total of 57
laps (3 on the short version of the track,) with a quickest time of
1:25.842. The Scuderia continues testing today, with Rubens
Barrichello driving.

2/22/04

Labor dispute in Australia could
threaten race The
assistant secretary for the ASU (Australian Services Union), Michael
Rizzo has confirmed that electrical workers are threatening to refuse
service to this year's Australian Grand Prix up to and including the
race.

"Our bans may impact on the grand prix and its preparations," Mr Rizzo
said. "Our bans say if there are power disconnections, we may not put
them on again. Unfortunately the nature of these bans is other people
are affected. It might be unfair, but the alternative is for us to do
nothing. If you are going to make an impact, it is an unfortunate
by-product that you are going to impact on people.”

Threats similar to these have been made in previous years, however
everything is normally ironed out well ahead of the race weekend and
Ron Walker, the GP organizer, is unconcerned.
"There are many parts to the GP, so there are many unions that could
singularly bring the Grand Prix to a halt, but it's never happened
before," he told the ABC. "The unions are normally very co-operative
and work very hard for all the things we do, so I don't expect it to
happen."

2/22/04

Andretti still not happy with Stewart According
to this AP
article, After Tony Stewart publicly blamed John Andretti for
causing two on-track incidents during practice at Daytona last week,
he sought out Andretti at Rockingham. The two Hoosier drivers sat on
the pit wall and talked for several minutes, but Andretti said
afterward that he's still upset. Andretti said he was mad that Stewart
made derogatory comments in public before having a private talk. And
he thinks any apology should have been as public as the criticism.
"Everybody can say, 'Well that's Tony,' " Andretti said, "but when I
have a family and kids that are old enough to understand, it's not
good enough to come up and talk to me on pit wall."

2/22/04

CART/IRL TV rating plummet
This page
from the July 1996 issue of Racer magazine shows what the CART and IRL TV
ratings were at the time of the split in 1995/1996. Compare them
to what they are today. For example, in 1995, the year before
the split, CART garnered a 3.1 rating for its Phoenix race and the
CART Indy 500 that year garnered an 8.4 rating. The split killed
the sport and the ratings. Tony George has to look at the 8.4
rating that CART got him for his 1995 Indy 500 and realize he has just
about destroyed his prize possession (rating now down to 4.8 with the
IRL racing at Indy and falling.....) What's pathetic about the
entire situation is how CART has been made out to be this evil empire
when the fact of the matter they were delivering good TV ratings and
attendance before the split. Then Tony George created the IRL and killed a good
thing. If he was the President of a public corporation he would
have been fired a long time ago.

2/21/04

Earnhardt wins fuels Conspiracy Theory
debate This LA Times
article talks about the recent Daytona 500 win by Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and the fuel it adds to the Conspiracy Theory.
Some have believed for years that NASCAR occurrences are sometimes
just too perfect to be real.........One former car owner, whose cars
won in Winston Cup racing, claimed that, from time to time, teams
would get "the call," word from NASCAR headquarters that in a selected
race or two, their cars would not receive the same stringent
inspection as the others. In other words, they could beef up the size
of their engines without fear of reprisal. The reasoning was that
NASCAR believed that if certain teams, or drivers, won, it would be
good for the sport. After all, as one racing publicist said, "It is
show business, you know." How about Dodge's first Winston Cup
start. It was Daytona and in their very first race, Dodge won
both front-row spots. When the green flag dropped for the race
they fell back through the field like lead sinkers through water.

2/21/04

NASCAR eyes Portland, Seattle This
AP
article says, NASCAR, the nation's fastest-growing sport,
could be headed to the Northwest. But it's not yet clear
whether a proposed 80,000 seat racetrack will be built in Portland or
Seattle, or somewhere in between.

International Speedway Corp., which owns Daytona International
Speedway and 11 other tracks that host NASCAR events, is scouting for
500- to 1,000-acre sites in Oregon and Washington on which to build a
$200 million-plus facility that could hold Nextel Cup, Busch series,
Craftsman Truck series and perhaps Indy Racing League events.

"One (Nextel Cup) event could mean $200 million in economic impact,"
said ISC spokesman David Talley. "It would be like bringing in two
Super Bowls. I mean, wherever we go, that area is going to benefit
greatly in terms of economic impact." Still, fans who want
tickets for a Seattle-area Cup race or a Portland-area Cup race will
have to wait.

"Even if we broke ground today, you wouldn't see anything until 2006,"
Talley said, noting 2008 was more likely. "We're in the very early
stages of the process." While Oregon is just now mounting an
effort to land NASCAR, the state of Washington is the clear
frontrunner.

For example, a delegation of state officials that included Lt. Gov.
Brad Owen attended last week's Daytona 500. The Oregon
Sports Authority held an invitation-only informational meeting Tuesday
at the Multnomah Athletic Club to discuss a potential racetrack with
representatives from ISC. "They made it very clear they
want a speedway in the Northwest," said Drew Mahalic of the OSA.
"Basically, they're looking to see where it makes the most sense,
Oregon or Washington

There were city of Portland representatives at Tuesday's meeting, but
Portland mayor Vera Katz and parks commissioner Jim Francesconi, a
mayoral candidate, did not attend. Mahalic said it's still
early in the game. He said a committee will be forming "in the next
few weeks" to identify potential sites and get various political
officials on board.

2/21/04

Panoz
Esperante makes track debut The
new Panoz Esperante GT-LM American Le Mans Series race car, built by
Elan Motorsports Technologies (EMT), turned its maiden laps Thursday
and Friday in a testing session at Road Atlanta. The car
was built to race later this year in the GT class of the American Le
Mans Series, which opens its 2004 campaign with the 52nd annual Mobil
1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Mar. 17-20 at Sebring (Fla.) International
Raceway.
More.....

2/21/04

NASCAR and Nextel to unveil all-star
race details Officials
of NASCAR, Nextel and Lowe's Motor Speedway will unveil the format and
other details concerning the 20th running of the NASCAR NEXTEL
All-Star Challenge during a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 24, in The
Speedway Club at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star
Challenge, the most exciting all-star event in professional sports,
will be contested under the lights at Lowe's Motor Speedway on
Saturday night, May 22.

2/21/04

Williams BMW concludes 3-day test in
Valencia The BMW WilliamsF1 Team concluded a three day
test at Valencia today having covered over 1,700 kilometers and headed
the timesheets on two out of the three days.

Both Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya were on hand to perform
testing duties, Juan running on Wednesday and Thursday and Ralf on
Thursday and Friday. The team’s official test driver, Marc Gené, was
also present to assist with the team’s testing program.

Despite heavy rain hampering today’s session, the team worked through
an extensive job list over the three days, including set-up work,
traction control routines and systems checks on the FW26. All three
drivers also carried out tyre construction testing with Michelin in
preparation for the opening round of the Championship in Melbourne on
March 7th.

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
“For the penultimate test before the start of the season, Juan, Ralf
and Marc shared testing responsibilities. Over the three days, the
drivers have worked through a lengthy programme in order to prepare
the FW26 for its debut in Melbourne."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"Just before bad weather hampered the test programme on Friday, the
BMW P84 engine successfully completed another race simulation. The
engine specification used will be the one we have in Melbourne so we
should be well prepared for the season's opener. Next week, we will
spend the final, pre-season test in Imola fine tuning the P84." The
BMW WilliamsF1 Team will travel to Imola next week for a three day
test commencing on Tuesday 24th February. Williams BMW

2/21/04

Renault renews with Telefonica The
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Friday announced a multi-year partnership
agreement with Spanish telecommunications group Telefonica. The
Renault F1 R24 will feature 'Telefonica' branding beginning at the
Australian Grand Prix.

"It is a good boost for the team to welcome Telefonica on-board just
before the start of the season," commented managing director Flavio
Briatore. "Renault is a team with a strong international profile, and
it is therefore a significant step for us to welcome a major Spanish
company such as Telefonica as our partner.

"We have had an extremely successful winter on the commercial front:
this new partnership marks the eighth new commercial agreement we have
signed for 2004. Our testing pace has been promising, and we look
forward to successful seasons ahead."

Earnhardt Jr. busy man after Daytona
500 win For Dale Earnhardt Jr., there are more perks to
his Daytona 500 victory than hoisting the Harley J. Earl trophy or
cashing his $1.4 million winner's check. Following car induction
ceremonies at DAYTONA USA - the "Official Attraction of NASCAR" -- and
his victory in the rain-delayed Hershey's Kisses 300 NASCAR Busch
Series race, Earnhardt Jr. began a long list of responsibilities that
comes with being the champion of NASCAR's biggest, richest and most
prestigious race - the Daytona 500.

On Monday afternoon, Earnhardt Jr. appeared via satellite with
numerous media outlets including MSNBC, ESPN and "Inside NEXTEL Cup"
before flying to New York City. On Tuesday, Earnhardt Jr. made
appearances on "The Today Show," "Live with Regis and Kelly," "The
Late Show with David Letterman" and CNN as well as meeting with the
New York City media. On the "Late Show with David Letterman,"
Earnhardt Jr. showed Letterman how to parallel park and then turned
doughnuts in a Corvette on 53rd Street.

Said Earnhardt Jr. about his hectic schedule: "I've always been pretty
satisfied with the exposure I've gotten and yeah, maybe there is a
point where there's too much and we're overdoing it. But I did win the
Daytona 500. I know people want to hear what I think about that. So
I'm cool with it all the things we're doing. It's been pretty busy. I
haven't had a whole lot of sleep. That's probably been the main thing.
If I had been a little bit more aware of how much rest I would have
needed, I probably would have taken a little more care in getting it.
But it's been fun."

2/20/04

Gil de Ferran named Grand Marshal
Reigning Indianapolis 500 Champion and recently retired Indy Racing
League IndyCar Series racing legend Gil de Ferran, has been named
Grand Marshal for the season-opening Toyota Indy 300, on Sunday,
February 29 at 2 pm (ESPN) at the NEW Homestead-Miami Speedway. As
Grand Marshal, the two-time National Champion will give the most
famous words in racing: "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines."

"It's really a great honor for me to be invited as the Grand Marshal
for such a big event here in South Florida," said de Ferran. "I have
strong connections with Homestead-Miami Speedway, with the South
Florida community, and with Toyota being that they gave me my first
Indianapolis 500 win and I gave them their first Indianapolis 500
win."

De Ferran, who retired at the end of the 2003 season after an
illustrious racing career that included National Championships in 2000
and 2001, holds the World Closed Course Speed Record with a lap of
241.428 mph. He left the sport in dramatic fashion winning the 2003
Indianapolis 500 and finishing second in the IndyCar Series point
standings with Toyota power. Race fans will have the opportunity to
pay tribute to de Ferran during pre-race ceremonies at the Toyota Indy
300.

"We're thrilled to have Gil de Ferran, one of the greatest drivers in
the history of open-wheel racing and a South Florida neighbor of ours,
serve as Grand Marshal for the Toyota Indy 300," said Curtis Gray,
President Homestead-Miami Speedway. "We encourage race fans to come
out to the Speedway and recognize Gil who went out on the top of his
sport, retiring after a successful 2003 highlighted by his
Indianapolis 500 victory."

2/20/04

Rocketsports
to participate at Convergence 2004
Rocketsports Racing engineers, Randy Gibson and John Gentilozzi,
will speak to Michigan State University students at the Convergence
2004 on Saturday, February 21 from 9 AM - 2 PM at the Communication
Arts and Sciences Building on the MSU campus. The two engineers, both MSU Alumni, will provide students with first-hand insight into the
technology, communication, business and team work required on a
professional open-wheel racing team. Photo caption:
Rocketsports Engineers Randy Gibson and John Gentilozzi. LAT
Photography.

The third annual Convergence is a forum designed to encourage
networking and communication between mid-Michigan businesses and
emerging professionals. The event is presented by ASCOT (Associated
Students for Career Orientation in Telecommunication) and strongly
supported by Rocketsports team owner and Champ Car World Series
partner, Paul Gentilozzi.

Gentilozzi earned his MBA from MSU and operates one of the largest
commercial real estate businesses in the mid-Michigan area. Gentilozzi
pursued his passion for racing and formed Rocketsports in 1985. In
addition to producing road-racing engines and chassis, the
Lansing-based organization runs a multi car team in the Motorock
Trans-Am Tour, and the No. 33 Johnson Controls Ford-Cosworth Lola in
the Champ Car World Series.

Rocketsports’ primary sponsor, Johnson Controls, will transport the
No. 33 Johnson Controls open-wheel show car to the MSU campus to give
students at the Convergence 2004 a glimpse of the impressive land
rocket.

Convergence 2004 is expected to attract over 250 young professionals
to the event this year. Admission to Convergence 2004 is not limited
to MSU students. There is no cost to attend the program. For more
information about the event and participating companies please visit
www.convergence2k4.com.

2/20/04Formula BMW

Formula BMW USA on track and testing
Three more significant steps towards the inaugural Formula BMW USA
Championship took place as in recent days the very first FB2 to arrive
in the States began its testing program and BMW of North America, LLC
announced Rounds Two and Three would take place in support of the
Canadian and United States Grands Prix in June.

"Formula BMW USA is now literally on-track in the United States," said
Formula BMW USA Manager Alex Schmuck. "Testing to familiarize
ourselves with the cars has begun and what a summer it will be. For
most of our young competitors Formula BMW USA will be the opening act
of their open wheel careers and BMW has put them right on center stage
in support of the only two Formula One races in North America. If your
goal is the Formula One World Championship you do not have to look far
from Formula BMW USA."

Under the direction of Series Coordinator and Engineer Louis
D'Agostino, development driver Oswaldo Negri Jr. completed more than
250 miles of testing over three days at both Sebring International
Raceway in Sebring, Fla. and Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm
Beach, Fla.

"The FB2 drives very much like an F-3 car and is surprisingly quick,"
said open-wheel veteran Negri. "The car is extremely nimble and allows
you to carry a great deal of speed into a corner. I love the sound of
the BMW engine. The FB2 is an incredible junior formula car."

"The Sebring test was important as we
wanted to assure ourselves that the FB2's suspension would be
compliant enough for the rougher surfaces of North American circuits,"
said D'Agostino. " We completed more than 150 miles and were pleased
that we were able to run quite a low ground clearance and maintain
good grip even over Sebring's uneven concrete. Moroso is considered to
have a low-grip surface and the FB2 performed equally well. We also
spent time there acquainting ourselves with the car's multi-channel
data acquisition system. It is quite comprehensive and will be a great
asset to our teams as well as quite a learning experience for our
newer drivers."

"You have a high expectation of any car with a Roundel (the blue and
white BMW emblem) on its nose and even more so with a BMW racing car,"
added D'Agostino. "Even with the bar set high, the FB2 impressed all
of us. It is balanced, fast and precise. Everything you expect from a
racing machine."

Formula BMW USA will open its season at Lime Rock Park on May 27-31,
followed by back-to-back weekends in support of the Canadian and
United States Grands Prix on June 11-13 and 18-20 respectively.

2/20/04

Garden State opens Hall doors
for Champ Car icon
Recently retired Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach Sr. is as
much a staple in the Champ Car World Series as the familiar
howl of a turbocharged V8 engine that has defined the series
for so many great years. For his efforts in the sport of
Champ Car racing as a pioneer, a driver and a governing
figure, the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey recently
announced Dallenbach as one of eight sports legends to be
honored in their 12th class of inductees this fall.

As a driver, the East Brunswick, New Jersey native raced
Champ Cars for 14 years before retiring from the cockpit to
become one of the series’ first employees when the
sanctioning body was formed in the late 1970s. He drove in
180 Champ Car races from 1965-1979, winning five times in
his career.

Dallenbach joined Champ Car as Competition Director in 1980
then became Chief Steward in 1981. As the Chief Steward, he
was considered to be among the top five officials in the
sport of auto racing in the world.

He will be enshrined in the Hall with other Garden State
greats from arenas spanning MLB, the NBA, the NFL and
Olympic figure skating at a dinner and induction ceremony in
September.

“The nominating committee and the Board are very grateful to
have such a vast collection of outstanding athletes to
choose from,” said Acting Chairman of the New Jersey Sports
Hall of Fame Bart Oates. “The depth of athletic talent in
the Garden State is staggering, from baseball to auto
racing, from football to figure skating, New Jersey athletes
have set records, raised the bar, and made their mark in
virtually every corner of the world of sports. The wide
range of talents displayed by this amazing class of athletes
simply underscores New Jersey’s outstanding sports legacy.”

In addition, Dallenbach was responsible for bringing the
safety team program to Champ Car– now known as the industry
standard for motorsports safety– and established
non-denominational church services for the families and
teams involved in the series.

Since the first induction ceremony in 1993, the Sports Hall
of Fame of New Jersey has enshrined 87 legends and 13
special events. Their plaques are on permanent display in
the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands Sports
Complex where millions of people can view them and pay
homage. Visit the Hall of Fame’s web site at
www.sportshalloffamenj.org., or call (201) 507-8134 for
ticket information.

2/20/04

Milwaukee Mile Fairgrounds CEO
resigns
According to
www.jsonline.com Joe Chrnelich the CEO of the Wisconsin
State Fair park has resigned. He was one of the key people
to push improving the Milwaukee Mile. This could really
throw a wrench in the long term plans of the track.

2/20/04

Verstappen wanted $3 million According
to this F1Racing.nl
article, Jos Verstappen was offered $2 million
salary in the Trust/Jordan deal but he held out for $3
million and Jordan said no.

2/20/04

Ron Dennis trashes NASCAR McLaren
boss Ron Dennis is no fan of NASCAR, with its lines of
growling stock cars rumbling bumper-to-bumper around ovals
for hours on end.
"You know one single thing that really, really upsets me?,"
he said last month when the talk turned to Formula One's
commercial future. "It's every time that I read about
NASCAR. It's just amazing. I mean they are just full up.
Every race is full up, they've got more income, more
television revenue and it's boring as hell. McLaren
chief Ron Dennis doesn't understand why NASCAR is so popular
in America. "That machine is working and yet
we've got a much better show," he added. Sunday's
Daytona 500, the 'Great American Race', will have given him
more to chew on. Set aside the stereotypes of
beer-swigging, good ol'boys revving their Chevys. NASCAR is
what Formula One, despite its mass appeal elsewhere, can
only dream of being in America. Just look at the figures:
Some 200,000 fans bursting with brand loyalty packed the
Speedway on Sunday......."If something is as successful as
that then you are a fool if you don't go and try and
understand what the ingredients are," said Dennis, who
intends to attend some NASCAR races with McLaren managing
director Martin Whitmarsh to see for themselves.
"Maybe we can bring some of them to our team. I think we'll
go and be pretty dismissive of the technology but I don't
think we'll be dismissive of all the things they do and how
they've managed to ramp it into such a success."
Reuters

2/20/04

Sauber and DaimlerChrysler extend
agreement Prior to the expiration of the current
partnership agreement, signed in 2002, Sauber Petronas and
DaimlerChrysler Switzerland have extended their cooperation by another
three years. Under the renewed agreement, Mercedes-Benz Commercial
Vehicles will continue to be the Swiss team's official supply partner
for Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks until 2007. In return, DaimlerChrysler
Switzerland will be receiving various marketing services, including
the possibility of using Sauber's new wind tunnel for exclusive
events.

Team Principal Peter Sauber commented on the renewal: "Of course, I'm
delighted about the extension of this highly successful partnership
and, what's more, it's reassuring to know that we'll be able to
continue hauling our racing cars and materials to the circuits aboard
the exceptionally reliable and safe Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks."

"The excellent reputation of the Sauber Petronas Formula 1 team,
marked by the pursuit of perfection and top quality, are important
attributes for us, as well, and hence guarantee a fantastic
partnership", said Paul Grossenbacher, Director of Mercedes-Benz
Commercial Vehicles, DaimlerChrysler Switzerland. "The early renewal
of our agreement for another three years will strengthen our
collaboration even further, and we're already keeping our fingers
crossed for the Hinwil team to have a successful season."

Mercedes-Benz Actros, the top-selling truck in Europe, has been a
synonym for quality, comfort and safety for many years. Actros trucks
used by Sauber Petronas are equipped with a number of safety features,
such as a lane warning system, distance control, anti-roll stability
control, airbags, etc. The new Actros received the Truck of the Year
2004 award. Sauber

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